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.
President Donald Trump has fired one of two Democratic members of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to break a 2-2 tie ahead of the board considering the largest railroad merger ever proposed.
Ford is recalling more than 355,000 of its pickup trucks across the U.S. because of an instrument panel display failure that’s resulted in critical information, like warning lights and vehicle speed, not showing up on the dashboard.
Nvidia reported a 56% increase in second-quarter revenue and a 59% rise in net income compared to a year ago.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos claims audiences don't want to watch Netflix movies in theaters, but that seems not to be the case recently.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
