Rising mobile and social star King, the publisher of the hugely successful Candy Crush Saga is rumoured to be preparing an Initial Public Offering (IPO) according to the Wall Street Journal.
An anonymous source talking to the financial publication states that King is in talks with several major banks including The Bank of America, Credit Suisse Group and JP Morgan to prepare for the process of going public.
King chief executive Riccardo Zacconi has talked about floating an IPO before although company spokespeople are currently not confirming or denying the story.
King entered the social gaming scene in 2003 and is currently the second largest developer operating on Facebook behind Zynga. Candy Crush Saga claimed the top spot for games on Facebook in January this year and across King’s entire portfolio of 150 games the company has clocked up 190 million monthly and 70 million daily players.
Earlier this month, King dropped all in-game ads from its titles in a bid to focus on ‘an uninterrupted entertainment experience’ for its players across web, tablet and mobile platforms. The company instead appears to be relying on in-app purchases to drive revenue, something that King is reportedly very good at.
King will be following in the footsteps of Zynga, another hugely successful social games company that rose through Facebook and launched its IPO. It will however be looking to avoid the precedent set by Zynga as most of the company’s financial results following its IPO have identified a significant decline in the company, backed up by a steady exodus of staff on all levels.
The other similarity that will be drawn by industry commentators is between King and Angry Birds creator Rovio, which has been making IPO-related noises since the announcement of its 2011 earnings. In February this year however, Rovio made it clear that the company was in a position to fund its own growth, suggesting that an IPO was no longer on the cards.
An anonymous source talking to the financial publication states that King is in talks with several major banks including The Bank of America, Credit Suisse Group and JP Morgan to prepare for the process of going public.
King chief executive Riccardo Zacconi has talked about floating an IPO before although company spokespeople are currently not confirming or denying the story.
King entered the social gaming scene in 2003 and is currently the second largest developer operating on Facebook behind Zynga. Candy Crush Saga claimed the top spot for games on Facebook in January this year and across King’s entire portfolio of 150 games the company has clocked up 190 million monthly and 70 million daily players.
Earlier this month, King dropped all in-game ads from its titles in a bid to focus on ‘an uninterrupted entertainment experience’ for its players across web, tablet and mobile platforms. The company instead appears to be relying on in-app purchases to drive revenue, something that King is reportedly very good at.
King will be following in the footsteps of Zynga, another hugely successful social games company that rose through Facebook and launched its IPO. It will however be looking to avoid the precedent set by Zynga as most of the company’s financial results following its IPO have identified a significant decline in the company, backed up by a steady exodus of staff on all levels.
The other similarity that will be drawn by industry commentators is between King and Angry Birds creator Rovio, which has been making IPO-related noises since the announcement of its 2011 earnings. In February this year however, Rovio made it clear that the company was in a position to fund its own growth, suggesting that an IPO was no longer on the cards.
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