News

Rovio CMO Vesterbacka hints at IPO in 2011, says valuation now 'a bit north' of $1 billion

The Mighty Eagle gets mightier

Rovio CMO Vesterbacka hints at IPO in 2011, says valuation now 'a bit north' of $1 billion
Having already raised the possibility of an initial public offering (IPO) within the next five years, Rovio CMO Peter Vesterbacka has suggested such a filing could be made as early as 2012.

What's more, Vesterbacka also claimed market capitalisation may now come in "a bit north" of the estimated $1 billion cited by Bloomberg back in August.

Setting a date

"We're not ready to file for an IPO tomorrow," Vesterbacka told Bloomberg Television. "Maybe a year from now."

He added, "We're happy with our valuation but we think it’s probably a bit north of that. We're insanely profitable. We're not a publicly traded company yet but we can fund our own growth." 

Vesterbacka's comments come seven months after Rovio chairman Kaj Hed told Reuters the Finnish studio was likely to file for an IPO in the US before the end of 2016.

"Our fans are primarily in US, so it's easy for us to bring our brand there."

One billion birdies

Vesterbacka went on to repeat his claim that the studio is looking to be the first entertainment brand with one billion fans.

"The company now has about 150 million active users," he concluded.

Rovio caused controversy earlier in the year when VP Ville Heijari told Eurogamer he considered Rovio's value to be "maybe north of PopCap's" after the Bejeweled studio was acquired by EA for $800 million.

[source: Bloomberg]

With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font.