Playtika, the Israel-based developer of mobile games and social casino titles, has pushed forward with it’s plan of a big Initial Public Offering (IPO). After a few months of preparation, the studio announced the impending sale of 69,500,000 shares, hoping to raise $1.67 billion.
The company is offering 21,700,000 shares of common stock, and an existing shareholder is looking to offload another 47,800,000 shares, the press release notes. Soon to be known as PLTK on the Nasdaq, shares are expected to go for anywhere between $22.00 and $24.00, with underwriters having the option to buy an additional 10,425,000 shares of common stock from the Selling Stockholder at the initial public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions.
At this price, Playtika would be valued at approximately $10 billion, well above the $4.4 billing a group of Chinese investors, led by Jack Ma, paid when it acquired the development studio from Caesars Interactive Entertainment in 2016.
Playtika was one of a few companies that started considering IPOs in 2020, spurred by the Covid-19 pandemic. Rather than looking for funds in a time of trouble, it was just the opposite story for the digital firm, hoping to cash in when things couldn’t be better. And an IPO that values the company at twice it’s 2016 sale price isn’t anything to sneeze at.