Interested in buying up a chunk of Zynga, eh? Well, the FarmVille maker just may name its price very shortly, as Fortune reports that the company will begin to pony around to investors next Monday. And with that, Zynga will likely make another amendment to its S-1 filing with the Security and Exchanges Commission (SEC) that would reveal its asking price for public shares along with how many shares will be made available.
Zynga filed for its initial public offering (IPO) way back in June of this year, and it finally looks like it's time to pull back the curtain and start taking offers. According to Fortune, company CEO Mark Pincus will join COO John Schappert (of EA fame) and CFO David Wehner in the dog and pony show to get investors excited about diving into Zynga, or ZNGA as it will appear on the Nasdaq.
The creator of top social games like CityVille seeks to raise $1 billion as a result of its IPO. Some expect a valuation, or projected worth of a company based on several factors, between $15 and $20 billion. That would make Zynga not only the most valuable social games company in the world, but the most valuable game company. Period. Well, that is if investors can look past Zynga employees driven to tears under company pressure.
Hiển thị các bài đăng có nhãn zynga ipo. Hiển thị tất cả bài đăng
Hiển thị các bài đăng có nhãn zynga ipo. Hiển thị tất cả bài đăng
Thứ Tư, 14 tháng 12, 2011
Zynga is the new four-letter word
Zynga's big debut on the stock market seems to be on everyone's mind this week -- and not necessarily in a good way -- as industry watchers come out of the woodwork to talk about the not-so-perfect state of the company behind games such as FarmVille, CityVille and Words with Friends.
First, there are several reports on how Zynga's games are not doing so hot. Cowen and Company analysts say that Zynga's new Facebook game CastleVille might be attracting lots of players, but at the expense of its other big Facebook games. The report says CastleVille has tied with FarmVille as the second most popular game on Facebook, with 6.9 million daily users each, but that November is still an overall "disappointment" for Zynga, because the company's other big Facebook games saw a collective loss of 3.8 million daily players in the past month. Another article in Businessweek talks about how the recently launched Mafia Wars 2 is failing to meet expectations, losing 900K daily active users in roughly a month.
In addition to a flagging player population, it seems like Zynga and its CEO aren't exactly winning friends. Venture Beat points out that Zynga CEO's Mark Pincus' approval rating is a low 46% and another story in the New York Times says long hours and grueling deadlines has grumbling employees counting down the days until they can cash out their stock and then jump ship. The same Times article talks about how Zynga's not-so-friendly culture could be a reason that Angry Birds creator Rovio turned down Zynga's offer of $2.5 billion in cash and stock this summer.
With a possible IPO in December, it sounds like Zynga's going to have to be on its best behavior to get onto Santa's (and investors') nice list this year.
First, there are several reports on how Zynga's games are not doing so hot. Cowen and Company analysts say that Zynga's new Facebook game CastleVille might be attracting lots of players, but at the expense of its other big Facebook games. The report says CastleVille has tied with FarmVille as the second most popular game on Facebook, with 6.9 million daily users each, but that November is still an overall "disappointment" for Zynga, because the company's other big Facebook games saw a collective loss of 3.8 million daily players in the past month. Another article in Businessweek talks about how the recently launched Mafia Wars 2 is failing to meet expectations, losing 900K daily active users in roughly a month.
In addition to a flagging player population, it seems like Zynga and its CEO aren't exactly winning friends. Venture Beat points out that Zynga CEO's Mark Pincus' approval rating is a low 46% and another story in the New York Times says long hours and grueling deadlines has grumbling employees counting down the days until they can cash out their stock and then jump ship. The same Times article talks about how Zynga's not-so-friendly culture could be a reason that Angry Birds creator Rovio turned down Zynga's offer of $2.5 billion in cash and stock this summer.
With a possible IPO in December, it sounds like Zynga's going to have to be on its best behavior to get onto Santa's (and investors') nice list this year.
Take-Two CEO sips on the haterade, says Zynga's 'metrics are sketchy'
You'd think gunning for a sweet $1 billion and the top spot among video games' largest publishers would be fun. Well, not for FarmVille maker Zynga: Not only is the media after the 4-year-old company, but so is everyone else. The next big timer to "be hype"--as the cool kids say-- is Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two Interactive. During the Reuters Media Summit in New York, Zelnick openly questioned Zynga's business model, casting doubt over whether it can make good on investor expectations as it quickly approaches an initial public offering (IPO).
"I would argue being the No. 1 player in (social gaming) is complicated, which is why Zynga hasn't gone public yet because their metrics are sketchy," Zelnick said to Reuters during a talk. "I think they have disclosure issues, I think you are seeing their acquisition costs go up, marketing costs go up and they have very high churn."
Zelnick was likely referring to the company's frequent amendments to its S-1 filing with the US Security and Exchanges Commission since it filed for IPO early this summer. His words also seem to allude to the 14 some companies Zynga purchased in a single year, which helped it amass nearly 3,000 employees worldwide. Finally, Zelnick could have been talking about how quickly the CityVille creator has lost daily players recently. (What a loaded statement, huh?) We can't wait to see who else gets "jelly"--that's cool now too, right?
"I would argue being the No. 1 player in (social gaming) is complicated, which is why Zynga hasn't gone public yet because their metrics are sketchy," Zelnick said to Reuters during a talk. "I think they have disclosure issues, I think you are seeing their acquisition costs go up, marketing costs go up and they have very high churn."
Zelnick was likely referring to the company's frequent amendments to its S-1 filing with the US Security and Exchanges Commission since it filed for IPO early this summer. His words also seem to allude to the 14 some companies Zynga purchased in a single year, which helped it amass nearly 3,000 employees worldwide. Finally, Zelnick could have been talking about how quickly the CityVille creator has lost daily players recently. (What a loaded statement, huh?) We can't wait to see who else gets "jelly"--that's cool now too, right?
Everybody, start your engines: Zynga will go public on Dec. 16 [Report]
Did you remember your enormous salt shaker? Good, because Reuters reports that Zynga, everybody's favorite social game maker, will make its stock market debut on Dec. 16. According to Reuters, the CityVille creator will look to raise $900 million, a hair down from the almost unanimously-reported $1 billion that will bring its valuation to $14 billion.
But hey, that's still right on par with the most valuable games company in the West, Activision Blizzard. (Of course, Reuters cites "a source involved in the process.") Zynga will reportedly ask between $8 and $10 a share on the Nasdaq under the ticker ZNGA--a fairly noticeable one, no? However, Reuters does confirm that Zynga will start its roadshow next week to spur investor interest.
That is, if investors can look past the recent torrent of reports and quips that don't paint the prettiest picture of the company behind FarmVille. The New York Times allegedly revealed that Angry Birds maker Rovio turned down a $2.25 billion offer from the company, while a recent Wall Street Journal report seems to have exposed quite the stock scandal within Zynga. Worse yet, players are apparently leaving in droves. It's time for Zynga to shift into third gear: That $900 million is atop one giant hill.
Would you ever invest in Zynga at such a price? Do you think the company could at least become the second most valuable games company in the US?
But hey, that's still right on par with the most valuable games company in the West, Activision Blizzard. (Of course, Reuters cites "a source involved in the process.") Zynga will reportedly ask between $8 and $10 a share on the Nasdaq under the ticker ZNGA--a fairly noticeable one, no? However, Reuters does confirm that Zynga will start its roadshow next week to spur investor interest.
That is, if investors can look past the recent torrent of reports and quips that don't paint the prettiest picture of the company behind FarmVille. The New York Times allegedly revealed that Angry Birds maker Rovio turned down a $2.25 billion offer from the company, while a recent Wall Street Journal report seems to have exposed quite the stock scandal within Zynga. Worse yet, players are apparently leaving in droves. It's time for Zynga to shift into third gear: That $900 million is atop one giant hill.
Would you ever invest in Zynga at such a price? Do you think the company could at least become the second most valuable games company in the US?
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