Capital Calls-South Korea gaming IPO primes for high score

NC

09/04/2021 05:17

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist.  The opinions
expressed are their own.)
    HONG KONG, April 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Concise
insights on global finance in the Covid-19 era.
 
    -------------------------------------------------
ONE HIT. The company behind one of the world’s most successful
mobile games has applied to go public  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2M10HF in South
Korea. Krafton, which counts China’s Tencent  0700.HK  as a key
backer, more than doubled operating profit last year to $692
million, according to local media, citing business filings.
That’s probably thanks to “PUBG Mobile”, the  survival-themed
shooting blockbuster that has racked up 1 billion downloads
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2LN03P since 2018. With the pandemic trapping gamers at
home for most of last year, the smash hit raked in $2.6 billion
in revenue for 2020, making it the most lucrative mobile game in
the world, research firm Sensor Tower reckons.
    Assume Krafton can double operating profit this year. On the
same 15 times valuation multiple that South Korean rival NCSoft
 036570.KS  trades at, that would imply a $20 billion enterprise
value. Krafton’s next level would be to deliver another “PUBG”
win. (By Robyn Mak)    
    On Twitter http://twitter.com/breakingviews
    
    Earlier in Capital Calls:
    Cellebrite good times  L1N2M12I5 
    Robinhood makes merry mischief  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2M11JY
    Vaccine startup’s U.S. IPO dents UK ambitions  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2M1373
    Macron sacrifices elite énarques  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2M1352
    KPN’s buyout window gets narrower  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2M129Q
  

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