Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Sept 5, 2017 7:13:54 GMT -6
variety.com/2017/digital/news/rovio-ipo-angry-birds-1202547117/
‘Angry Birds’ Maker Rovio Plans IPO to Raise $36 Million
Rovio Entertainment, the games and entertainment company built around the “Angry Birds” global franchise, announced plans Tuesday for an initial public offering to raise capital and improve its “strategic flexibility.”
The Espoo, Finland-based company zoomed to worldwide fame with “Angry Birds,” but has suffered declining revenue and profits — leading to several rounds of layoffs — in recent years. Rovio said one of the benefits of going public would be to let it use shares for potential acquisitions and to compensate employees.
Rovio said it is planning is issue approximately 30 million euros ($35.8 million) worth of shares in connection with the IPO. Shares are expected to be offered to investors in Finland, Sweden and Denmark, along with institutional investors in Finland and internationally. The Rovio shares will be listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki exchange.
The company is best known for “Angry Birds,” first launched as a mobile game in 2009. Today, Rovio develops and publishes multiple mobile games and produced “The Angry Birds Movie” with Sony. The company’s games business unit accounted for 79% of revenue for the 12 months ended June 30, 2017, with brand licensing comprising the remainder.
“I am confident in our games-first strategy,” Kati Levoranta, CEO of Rovio, said in a statement. “The contemplated IPO and listing are an important milestone in developing Rovio into an even stronger games-first entertainment company.”
The company’s mobile games have been downloaded more than 3.7 billion times as of the end of June 2017, and they had on average 80 million monthly active users during the second quarter of 2017, according to Rovio.
Rovio is 70% owned by Trema International Holdings, which is controlled by Kaj Hed, the uncle of Rovio co-founder Niklas Hed, with other investors including venture-capital firms Accel Partners and Atomico.
Carnegie Investment Bank AB in Finland and Danske Bank A/S in Helsinki Branch are acting as joint coordinators in the planned IPO. Deutsche Bank AG in London and OP Corporate Bank are acting as joint bookrunners.
‘Angry Birds’ Maker Rovio Plans IPO to Raise $36 Million
Rovio Entertainment, the games and entertainment company built around the “Angry Birds” global franchise, announced plans Tuesday for an initial public offering to raise capital and improve its “strategic flexibility.”
The Espoo, Finland-based company zoomed to worldwide fame with “Angry Birds,” but has suffered declining revenue and profits — leading to several rounds of layoffs — in recent years. Rovio said one of the benefits of going public would be to let it use shares for potential acquisitions and to compensate employees.
Rovio said it is planning is issue approximately 30 million euros ($35.8 million) worth of shares in connection with the IPO. Shares are expected to be offered to investors in Finland, Sweden and Denmark, along with institutional investors in Finland and internationally. The Rovio shares will be listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki exchange.
The company is best known for “Angry Birds,” first launched as a mobile game in 2009. Today, Rovio develops and publishes multiple mobile games and produced “The Angry Birds Movie” with Sony. The company’s games business unit accounted for 79% of revenue for the 12 months ended June 30, 2017, with brand licensing comprising the remainder.
“I am confident in our games-first strategy,” Kati Levoranta, CEO of Rovio, said in a statement. “The contemplated IPO and listing are an important milestone in developing Rovio into an even stronger games-first entertainment company.”
The company’s mobile games have been downloaded more than 3.7 billion times as of the end of June 2017, and they had on average 80 million monthly active users during the second quarter of 2017, according to Rovio.
Rovio is 70% owned by Trema International Holdings, which is controlled by Kaj Hed, the uncle of Rovio co-founder Niklas Hed, with other investors including venture-capital firms Accel Partners and Atomico.
Carnegie Investment Bank AB in Finland and Danske Bank A/S in Helsinki Branch are acting as joint coordinators in the planned IPO. Deutsche Bank AG in London and OP Corporate Bank are acting as joint bookrunners.