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Report: Angry Birds developer Rovio plots IPO

Listing could raise $400 million for the company

Report: Angry Birds developer Rovio plots IPO

Angry Birds developer Rovio is plotting an IPO that could take place as soon as September 2017, according to a report.

People “familiar with the matter” have told Bloomberg that it’s thought the Finnish company could raise around $400 million from listing on the Helsinki Stock Exchange. Such a move would value that developer at about $2 billion.

The move would help with the production and marketing costs of The Angry Birds Movie 2, set for a 2019 release, as well as supporting its games portfolio.

Banks advising on the potential IPO are said to include Carnegie Bank A/S, Danske Bank A/S and Deutsche Bank AG.

It was stressed however that no final decision has been made on whether to go public.

Joining the flock

The news follows rumours of a bid from Tencent to acquire the company back in June 2017 in a deal that would value the Finnish developer at $3 billion.

It was also reported then that Rovio may seek an IPO at the end of the year, backing up these latest claims.

Rovio’s business has been on the up during the last year, with the company almost doubling its revenues year-on-year in Q1 FY17.

The success of Angry Birds 2 and The Angry Birds Movie in particular, as well as various licensing and merchandising deals, have propelled the developer's finances to new heights.

A Rovio IPO would follow in the footsteps of other recent listings from Finnish developers that includes Remedy Entertainment, Next Games and Nitro Games.

Rovio will be among of a plethora of games companies heading to Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki 2017 on September 19th and 20th. Speakers from the company are set to include EVP of Games Wilhelm Taht and Project Manager and Lead Game Designer Måns Wide.


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.