Zynga launches US$1bn IPO
Social gaming company in largest IPO for a US internet company since Google in 2004, valuing it at $8.9bn.
Social gaming company Zynga, whose poker product has the largest player base worldwide, launched a US$1bn IPO last night.
It sold 100m shares at “the high end” of its $8.50 to $10 range, with underwriters given the option to purchase a further 15m over the course of the next 30 days.
The deal values Zynga at $8.9bn, with this the largest IPO for a US internet company since Google floated in 2004 for $1.9bn and the third-largest US-listed deal ever.
Zynga boasts four of the six most popular apps on Facebook, with CityVille, Castleville, Farmville and Texas Hold’Em Poker bringing in more than 140m monthly active users between them according to Appdata.
However the launch of its direct-to-user Project Z innovation in October signalled a desire to lessen its reliance on the world’s largest social network, and launches on Google+ and other platforms have served to emphasise this stance.
The Texas Hold’Em Poker product, which attracts 6.3m daily active users and close to 30m a month, currently works on a monetised free-play model with the option for players to pay a premium for extra credits or to “level up”.
Lo Toney, general manager of Zynga Casino “ which comprises the poker offering and a soon-to-launch bingo product “ told eGaming Review last month that there were no plans for a real-money egaming launch.
There is no sign that that stance has changed in the intervening period, despite eGR‘s exclusive revelation that Facebook was looking into real-money egaming.