South Korea mobile games publisher Netmarble has launched an initial public offering in the country that has valued the company at $12.2 billion.

The publisher officially went public today, May 12th 2017, following months of speculation about its plans for an IPO.

Netmarble priced its IPO at the top of its range in part thanks to its healthy portfolio, recent acquisitions and successful game launches.

Its portfolio includes the recently acquired US top grosser Marvel: Contest of Champions, the newly released Transformers: Forged to Fight and the hugely successful South Korean title Lineage 2: Revolution. It’s been claimed the latter title made $176 million in its first month alone.

Shares on the first day closed at $144, making it the second biggest IPO in the country's history.

War chest

It was previously reported that Netmarble plans to go on a $4.4 billion acquisition spree after raising funds from its IPO.

The company is said to be looking for “bigger targets that previously”.

Its most recent acquisition was the Kabam publishing label and its Vancouver Studio behind Contest of Champions.

Last year it failed in a $4.3 billion bid for social casino firm Playtika. The move however suggests that Netmarble is not shy about spending large sums of money on M&A activity.