Israeli gaming company Playtika has provided more details about its upcoming initial public offering (IPO) on Nasdaq. In an updated prospectus, the Herzliya based gaming firm says it plans offering shares worth about $1.6 billion at a company valuation of between $8.6 billion and $9.4 billion, with half the sum in share being offered by existing equity holders.
In the revised filing, Playtika says it plans offering investors 21.7 million new shares at $22-24 per share to raise $477-521 million. In addition the company's controlling shareholder, a Chinese consortium (alpha Frontier) controlled by Playtika Holding UK, will sell 47.8 million shares for about $1.1 billion, and lower its holding from 96.7% to 80%.
At the mid-range of the offering, the Chinese consortium would be left with a stake in Playtika worth $7.6 billion, after the offering. Playtika's cofounder and CEO Robert Antokol, who is not selling shares in the offering, would be left with a stake worth $220-240 million.
The company said that it is raising the money for general corporate purposes, working capital and capital expenses. Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse are acting as lead bookrunners for the IPO with Goldman Sachs, UBS, BofA Securities, Baird, Stifel, Cowen and Wedbush Securities acting as additional bookrunners.
Playtika was founded in 2010 by Antokol and Uri Shahak. It was acquired the following year by US company Caesars Interactive Entertainment for $130 million and acquired from them in 2016 by a Chinese consortium for $4.4 billion.
In the first nine months of 2020, Playtika had revenue of $1.8 billion, up 28.5% from the corresponding period of 2019. 80% of revenue was generated through Apple, Google and Facebook. However, in the first nine months of 2020 net profit shrank 93.8% to $16.1 million due to the $310 million remuneration paid to Antokol in two tranches of locked shares. EBITDA was $666 million, up 41.2%.
The mobile games developer claims to have nearly 30 million monthly active users, and is known for its casino-themed games and apps for poker and solitaire.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on January 7, 2021
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