Mobile gaming platform Playtika ($PLTK) began trading on the Nasdaq Friday in an initial public offering valuing the company at $1.88 billion, potentially making it the biggest IPO of the year so far.
The Israeli-based platform hosts a mix of casual and casino-themed games, with nine out of the top 100 games on Apple and Google Play, according to CFO Craig Abrahams.
In the lead-up to the public offering, the company benefited from a surge of interest in mobile gaming during the pandemic.
"During stay-at-home orders, people were looking for alternate means of entertainment during these tough times, and mobile gaming was one of the great places that they went for entertainment," Abrahams told Cheddar.
The company makes 97 percent of its revenue from in-app purchases, such as extra features bought within the game to extend or expand players' experience, and 3 percent from in-game advertising.
Funding from the IPO will support an ongoing growth strategy centered around acquisitions.
"There's a lot of opportunities in front of us," Abrahams said. "M&A has been a core part of our growth strategy."
He added that Playtika has made seven studio acquisitions over the last eight years and that the company is in a strong position to make another one in the near-term.
"We've always generated a tremendous amount of cash," he said.
Playtika is the first in what could be a full pipeline of game developers going public this year. Kids gaming site Roblox is planning a direct listing early in 2021, and mobile gaming conglomerate AppLovin is currently exploring a public option.
Updated on January 15, 2021, at 12:28 p.m. ET to reflect that trading was underway.
One of the world's largest renewable energy developers will be getting hundreds of wind turbines from General Electric spinoff GE Vernova as part of a record equipment order and long-term service deal.
Consider this your sign to pack your bags. Airbnb says Colorado Springs will be a top travel destination in 2024.
A moon landing attempt by a private US company appears doomed because of a fuel leak on the newly launched spacecraft. Astrobotic Technology managed to orient the lander toward the sun Monday so its solar panel could capture sunlight and charge its onboard battery.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has announced that 100,000 businesses have signed up for a new database that collects ownership information intended to help unmask shell company owners. Yellen says the database will send the message that “the United States is not a haven for dirty money.”
A new version of the federal student aid application known as the FAFSA is available for the 2024-2025 school year, but only on a limited basis as the U.S. Department of Education works on a redesign meant to make it easier to apply.
A steep budget deficit caused by plummeting tax revenues and escalating school voucher costs will be in focus Monday as Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs and the Republican-controlled Arizona Legislature return for a new session at the state Capitol.
The first U.S. lunar lander in more than 50 years is on its way to the moon. The private lander from Astrobotic Technology blasted off Monday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, catching a ride on United Launch Alliance's brand new rocket Vulcan.
Global prices for food commodities like grain and vegetable oil fell last year from record highs in 2022, when Russia’s war in Ukraine, drought and other factors helped worsen hunger worldwide, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said Friday.
Wall Street is drifting higher after reports showed the job market remains solid, but key parts of the economy still don’t look like they’re overheating.
The Biden administration is docking more than $2 million in payments to student loan servicers that failed to send billing statements on time after the end of a pandemic payment freeze.
