The Finnish mobile gaming company Rovio has announced the price range for its long-awaited initial public offering (IPO) later this month.
The Angry Birds firm on Friday set the initial price range for its Helsinki flotation at €10.25-€11.50 ($12.24-$13.73) per share, which would give it a valuation somewhere in the region of $1 billion. That’s a far cry from the $2 billion valuation that was rumored when IPO predictions emerged last month.
Rovio hopes to raise €30 million in the public offering, from investors in Finland, Sweden, and Denmark. Trema International, which currently owns 69% of Rovio’s shares, will retain a 36.6% stake in the company after the flotation, assuming that the final offer price falls at the midpoint of the preliminary price range.
Rovio has in the last year or so returned to profitability, largely thanks to the success of the Angry Birds film. Although the firm has yet to release a non-Angry Birds game that does anything like as well as that familiar series, it’s still pulling in a decent amount of gaming revenue.
Last month it announced a 94% year-on-year increase in second-quarter revenues, up from €44.5 million to €86.2 million. Of that, €24.9 million was from brand licensing—largely related to the movie, which will get a sequel in 2019—but gaming revenue was still up 65%, reaching €61.3 million for the quarter.
The EBITDA margin for the second quarter was 36.7%, versus 19.3% for the same quarter in 2016.
The subscription period for the IPO will kick off on Sept. 18 and end on Sept. 26, while the subscription period for Rovio’s institutional offering—also open to international investors—will start on the same day and end on Sept. 28. Trading will begin the next day on Nasdaq Helsinki’s pre-list.
