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.