Candy Crush IPO?

[riverbabe]

YES! I'll be all in on this one! (maybe) I'm a total addict.

GAME MAKER BEHIND CANDY CRUSH SEEKS I.P.O.

The British game maker King, which created Candy Crush Saga, has its eye set on becoming a top technology initial public offering across the Atlantic ocean from its home country, DealBook's Michael J. de la Merced reports. The company has filed for an I.P.O. in the United States, according to people briefed on the matter, in what promises to be one of the biggest debuts by a gaming company in over a year. The company has retained Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse and JPMorgan Chase to lead the offering, according to the people.

"King may still have to overcome skepticism about the last gaming company to make a highly public offering, Zynga," Mr. de la Merced writes. "After its much-ballyhooed market debut in December 2011, Zynga has struggled amid declining popularity, employee layoffs and costly missteps like the nearly $200 million purchase of OMGPOP, a game maker that the company has since shut down."

[mrmarket]

What the hell IS Candy Crush, anyway?

[riverbabe]

What the hell IS Candy Crush, anyway?

Go to your FB page and download the app. You'll love it. You always have to go thru your FB page to play it. But beware. It's too much fun.

[Duniyo]

Never heard of it either. If it's good they should make a mobile version, not everyone use FB.

[riverbabe]

Also, FB makes $$$ on it by encouraging you to buy lives, various boosters, and advancement to some of the next levels. I'm disciplined and don't do this. I just keep playing a level until the statistics are in my favor and I eventually win. The $$$ amounts are small, e.g. $1.00, 90 cents, etc. But I heard an unverified rumor about somebody spending $3,000 in one month! Another tip, after 5 lives are used you have to wait time (up to 30 min) before you get another one. If you open a bunch of tabs with CC, the time countdown is the same, but you get the new life on each tab. I usually play about 4. P.S., I'm currently stuck on Level 151.

[riverbabe]

Well, looks like it might be coming.

From Dealbook.nytimes.com today--

BY SYDNEY EMBER

SUGAR RUSH FOR CANDY CRUSH King Digital Entertainment's filing of a $500 million initial public offering on Tuesday had many investors salivating. But it remains to be seen whether the company behind the addictive game Candy Crush can sustain its sweetness and avoid the pitfalls of other game makers, Jenna Wortham and Michael J. de la Merced write in DealBook. Indeed, Candy Crush attracts 93 million players each day and accounts for nearly 80 percent of the company's revenue, which neared $1.9 billion by the end of 2013 from $164 million in 2012.

The game shows few signs of cooling, but its meteoric rise and King's pursuit of a lofty valuation have raised fears of a bubble, though a very sweet one. "Already, there are signs that the company might be leveling off. King's gross bookings and revenue declined in the fourth quarter of 2013, which it attributed in part to a decline in the Candy Crush business. King also emphasized that it expected its blockbuster hit to contribute less to its overall sales over time," Ms. Wortham and Mr. de la Merced write.

From ReCode: "Candy Crush Saga maker King is preparing to go public, but one look at the 'key metrics' in its Securities and Exchange Commission papers tells a seemingly simple story: The company is popular and profitable, but may have already peaked."

"The problem is, people like what they already know. King's most recent title, Farm Heroes Saga, is basically the same game as Candy Crush Saga with different art, and Papa Pear Saga is pretty close to EA subsidiary PopCap's seven-year-old puzzle game Peggle."

[riverbabe]

CANDY CRUSH SAGA MAKER TO PRICE I.P.O. ON TUESDAY

I'm not betting on this one folks. I'm burnt out on CCS and close to it on Farm Heroes Saga. There have to be a lot of us out there. $24 seems like a lot to me, considering where Zynga is right now.

"The maker of Candy Crush Saga, King Digital Entertainment, plans to price its initial public offering on Tuesday. The European game maker hopes the enormous success of its puzzle game will persuade investors to pay as much as $24 a share, valuing the company at $7.6 billion. But analysts have worried the company can coast for only so long on one breakout hit. MICHAEL J. de la MERCED"

Dealbook.nytimes.com

[billyjoe]

River, Did I see you standing in front of the Candy Crush trading site at the Nasdaq exchange on CNBC ? No, It couldn't be.

-----------------billy

[riverbabe]

River, Did I see you standing in front of the Candy Crush trading site at the Nasdaq exchange on CNBC ? No, It couldn't be.

-----------------billy

Ha Ha. Cute!

[Louetta]

CANDY CRUSH SAGA MAKER TO PRICE I.P.O. ON TUESDAY

I'm not betting on this one folks. I'm burnt out on CCS and close to it on Farm Heroes Saga. There have to be a lot of us out there. $24 seems like a lot to me, considering where Zynga is right now.

... snip ...

Good call.