Angry Birds maker may take off with $2-billion IPO
LONDON—Angry Birds maker Rovio Entertainment Oy plans to sell shares in a Helsinki initial public offering, seeking funds to support its resurgence seven years after releasing its bestselling mobile-game title.
Main owner Kaj Hed, 62, and some other holders will sell shares, and Rovio will offer about 30 million euros ($36 million U.S.) of new stock, the company said Tuesday, without providing a total value for the sale. The IPO could value the maker of the Angry Birds mobile games and movie at about $2 billion, people familiar with the matter said last month.
Rovio has emerged from a slump after changing the way it charges for game playing, and an IPO gives CEO Kati Levoranta ammunition to develop new titles. The listing is set to test investors’ appetite for entertainment software, a group whose shares have barely budged from their offer prices following IPOs this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
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