Israeli mobile gaming company Playtika went public on Thursday with an initial public offering at $27 a share, giving the Herzliya-based company a valuation of $11 billion.
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The latest IPO in the game industry will test how much fervor investors have for gaming stocks, as games have prospered during the pandemic as people look for ways to engage in social-distanced fun and distract themselves from reality.
Playtika had set a target price of between $22 and $24 apiece. The Israeli company, which is owned by a Chinese investor group, sold around 18.5 million shares, compared to an original plan of 21.7 million shares, and a further 50.98 million shares by existing investors, up from 47.8 million originally.
The IPO, the biggest US listing in 2021 so far. The total offering was worth around $1.88 billion at $27 per share.
The IPO is the latest sign of robust investor demand for new stocks following a stellar 2020, which was the strongest IPO market in two decades, and a string of other listings this week that priced well relative to their targets.
In 2016, a group of Chinese investors including Giant Network Group and Yunfeng Capital, a private equity firm founded by Alibaba Group's Jack Ma, acquired Playtika from Caesars Interactive for $4.4 billion.
Playtika's IPO comes as US-listed Chinese firms face tightened scrutiny and strict audit norms from US regulators and a week after the New York Stock Exchange decided to delist three Chinese telecom companies.
Founded in 2010, Playtika has more than 35 million monthly active users and its games include Bingo Blitz and Slotomania.
Playtika shares are scheduled to begin trading on the Nasdaq on Friday under the ticker symbol "PLTK."
Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, UBS and BofA Securities are the lead underwriters.
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