Mobile gaming firm Playtika's shares jump nearly 24% in Nasdaq debut (updated)

Playtika Holding

15/01/2021 18:47

(Adds details on Playtika's IPO, comments from CEO interview)
    Jan 15 (Reuters) - Shares of Israel-based mobile gaming
company Playtika Holding Corp  PLTK.O  jumped nearly 24% in
their debut on the Nasdaq on Friday, valuing the company at
nearly $13.79 billion.  
    Shares opened at $33.4, above their upsized initial public
offering (IPO) price of $27 per share. The company raised $1.88
billion in the IPO.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2JQ023 
    Playtika's IPO is the biggest U.S. listing this year.
    Demand for mobile gaming has surged since the beginning of
the coronavirus-led lockdowns last year, as people continue to
hunker down at home and educational institutions remain shut in
most countries to curb the spread of the outbreak. 
    "We didn't need to go public over the past few years, as we
were cash flow positive. But as started growing faster and
getting bigger, we felt the time was ripe for us to go public,"
said Robert Antokol, founder and chief executive officer of
Playtika. 
    Antokol added that Playtika is developing a number of new
games and is planning to launch at least one new game within the
next 12 months. 
    Playtika's debut comes at the end of one of the biggest and
busiest weeks for new listings in at least five years, as
companies rush to cash in on the strongest market for IPOs in
nearly two decades, after a pandemic-driven lull early last
year.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2JJ1L1
    Founded in 2010, the company has more than 35 million
monthly active users, according to its website. Its games
include Bingo, Blitz and Slotomania. 
   Playtika was acquired by Caesars Interactive Entertainment in
2011. In 2016, a group of Chinese investors, led by Giant
Network Group Co Ltd  002558.SZ , acquired Playtika from Caesars
for $4.4 billion. 
    Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, UBS
and BofA Securities were the lead underwriters for the offering.
    
    

 (Reporting by Sohini Podder in Bengaluru; Editing by Amy Caren
Daniel)
 ((sohini.podder@thomsonreuters.com;))