Polish games operator's IPO a success as stay-at home lockdown boosts outlook

Games Operators SA

20/04/2020 12:08

By Agnieszka Barteczko and Anna Koper
    WARSAW, April 20 (Reuters) - Shares in Polish gaming company
Games Operators  GOP.WA  rose further on Monday, after doubling
on their debut late last week as investors bet on increased
interest in gaming during lockdowns due to the coronavirus.
    Games Operators' shares doubled on Friday from a sale price
of 22 zlotys but were also suspended for most of the day due to
very high bids.
    The shares resumed trade on Monday and by 1000 GMT were up
7.5% from Friday's close to 47.3 zlotys. The stock led the
market in turnover value. 
    The IPO marks a success at a time when the Warsaw bourse has
struggled for new listings. In Europe, not a single European
company listed on the stock market in March.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2BJ8K7
    Games Operators, founded in 2015, sold 1.1 million shares in
its initial public offering in March, including 250,000 new
shares, at 22 zlotys each compared to a maximum price of 28.5
zlotys.
    The IPO was worth 24.2 million zlotys ($5.82 million). The
company raised 5.5 million zlotys and the rest went to investors
who sold their shares.
    "Lockdown and the epidemic are certainly making people spend
much more time using mobile devices. This is confirmed by the
available data and analyzes," said Kacper Kopron, analyst at
Trigon DM. 
    Poland has emerged as a leading video game exporter thanks
in part to low labour costs, a young educated workforce and a
gaming tradition rooted in the Communist era. The coronavirus
restrictions have further lifted the sector.
    A stronger dollar against the zloty has also boosted Polish
video games sales, as many companies sell most of their products
outside Poland. 
    Games Operators' book-building concluded on March 12, a day
before Poland announced it was closing borders and put
restrictions on movement to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
    "During our roadshow we quickly switched to fist bumps,
'elbows' or Asian style bows instead of the traditional hand
shake," founder and Chief Executive Bartlomiej Gajewski said in
an emailed response to questions from Reuters.
    "The amount we raised meets our expectations and it will
allow us to follow our assumptions and goals," the CEO said.
    Santander BM, the book-runner, said that the fact that Games
Operators is from a sector that thrives when people are forced
to stay at home played a decisive role in the offer.
    Games Operators is a relatively small player. Shares in the
CD Projekt  CDR.WA  - the country's biggest games maker and
producer of the top-selling Witcher series - have risen by 21%
since the start of the year as the Warsaw blue chip index WIG20
 .WIG20  declined by 25%. 
    Investor attention to the gaming industry also helped
startup firm covenant.dev raise over 1 million zlotys from a
share issue at the end of March.
    "We hope that the interest (in gaming sector) will not
weaken in the second half of the year when we will be placing
another share issue," said Stanislaw Just, CEO of covenant.dev.

($1 = 4.1601 zlotys)

 (Editing by Michael Kahn and Susan Fenton)
 ((agnieszka.barteczko@thomsonreuters.com; +48226539700; Reuters
Messaging: agnieszka.barteczko.reuters.com@thomsonreuters.net))