News

Mobile games publishing giant Netmarble plots IPO worth up to $2.35 billion

Could be the largest public offering in South Korea for years

Mobile games publishing giant Netmarble plots IPO worth up to $2.35 billion

South Korea-based mobile games publisher Netmarble has officially revealed its plans for an initial public offering on the Korea Exchange.

The company is seeking to raise between $1.8 billion and $2.35 billion through its IPO.

According to Reuters, if the publisher were to hit prices in the mid-to-high range it would make the flotation the second largest in South Korea, beating Samsun BioLogic Co Ltd’s $2 billion offering.

The company aims to issue 16.95 million new shares when it goes public, representing 20% of total shares. No existing shares will be sold.

Eye for acquisitions

Netmarble hopes to increase its M&A activity following the IPO.

The publisher has already been busy with acquisitions in the Western market after picking up Marvel: Contest of Champions developer Kabam Vancouver in December 2016. The deal closed in February 2017 and also included the Kabam games label, upcoming game Transformers: Forged to Fight and a number of other teams at Kabam.

The US publisher has started anew with its remaining assets at a new company called Aftershock.

Netmarble's IPO will likely receive a further boon from that acquisition, as well as the strong performance of its latest release, Lineage 2: Revolution.

The mobile RPG achieved an astonishing $176 million in revenue after its first month of release in South Korea alone, and the publisher aims to bring the title to other markets across the globe.


Tags:
Head of Content

Craig Chapple is a freelance analyst, consultant and writer with specialist knowledge of the games industry. He has previously served as Senior Editor at PocketGamer.biz, as well as holding roles at Sensor Tower, Nintendo and Develop.