Angry Birds maker Rovio plans to fly on Helsinki Stock Exchange

7 years ago - Published in Finance, Fundamental Analysis

Angry Birds maker Rovio will float shares on the Nasdaq Helsinki stock exchange, confirming rumours of an imminent initial public offering (IPO) which emerged last month.

The developer of the first mobile game to hit one billion downloads will issue €30m in shares in the Finnish capital, where it is headquartered, it said in a statement.

The company, which started in 2009 as it rode the back of the massive popularity of the Angry Birds game, also has offices in the UK, Sweden, China and the US. It declined too to put an estimated value on the company, which some traders have said could be a high as $2 billion.

Rovio claims to have 80m active monthly users on average, with 11m of those using its apps every day. That has driven revenue to grow by 94 per cent year-on-year in the first half of 2017, to reach €152.6m it announced today.

Rovio chief executive Kati Levoranta said the company has a "diversified games portfolio, proven game development talent and operational excellence as well as our large existing user base."

The company saw rapid growth after the 2009 launch of the original “Angry Birds” game, in which players use a slingshot to attack pigs that steal birds’ eggs, as the company cashed in on its popularity by licensing the brand for use on toys and clothing.

Its business slowed in the following years amid new challengers, but a 3D movie release in 2016 revived the brand and gave a new boost to game sales.

The company said it expected sales and profits to increase significantly in 2017 as a whole.

“Valuations, also for gaming companies, have shot up in past few years. So it’s a tempting time for the owners to make an exit,” said analyst Atte Riikola from Helsinki-based equity research firm Inderes.

“Market rumours have talked about (a Rovio) valuation around 2 billion dollars, but compared with historic results … that sounds really high.”

Rovio’s biggest owner is co-founder Niklas Hedman’s uncle Kaj Hed. He owns some 70 percent of the company through his Netherlands-based holding company Trema International Holdings B.V.