Rovio, developer of popular app “Angry Birds”, have launched their initial public offering (IPO) on the Helsinki stock exchange – valuing the company at almost €900m.
Rovio is putting 37 million shares up for sale at between €10.25 and €11.50 each in the flotation.
The company hopes to raise €30m in the new share issue.
Its main owners, including Dutch holding Trema International, will also market a percentage of their shares.
In 2014 Rovio suffered a fall in sales and were forced to slash almost one in six of its workforce. The company accelerated its diversification following a loss-making 2015.
Rovio’s business has escalated over the last year. The company almost doubled its revenues year-on-year in the first quarter of 2017. This comes as a result of the phenomenal success of The Angry Birds Movie, alongside licensing and merchandising deals.
The news comes after rumours that Tencent tried to acquire the company in June 2017 in a deal that would value Rovio at $3 billion. At the time it was reported that Rovio could seek an IPO at the end of the year.
Other Finnish developers have recently listed, including Remedy Entertainment, Next Games and Nitro Games.
Image courtesy of Rovio.
https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2017/0918/905590-angry-birds-ipo/
