Rovio announces plan to go with $1-million IPO

Finnish mobile games maker Rovio Entertainment Ltd set a price range on Friday for its planned listing that would value the maker of “Angry Birds” at up to $1.1 billion, well below potential values cited in media reports. The company, whose business is recovering after a tough couple of years, announced its longawaited initial public offering (IPO) this month, saying it was aiming to boost growth and to take part in gaming industry consolidation. Initial media reports had said the company could be valued at up to $2 billion in the flotation, though analysts had already questioned whether that could really be achieved. The preliminary price range of 10.25 euros to 11.50 euros per share announced on Friday would give Rovio a market value of 802 million to 896 million euros, or $950 million to $1.1 billion. “If it had been as rumoured, it would have been way too high,” said analyst Atte Riikola from Helsinki-based equity research firm Inderes. “Looking at sales, the valuation pits Rovio at the same level as it peers, but includes profit growth expectations.” Rovio, whose games have been downloaded 3.7 billion times, grew rapidly after the original “Angry Birds” game was launched in 2009. But Rovio was slow to respond to a shift to freely available mobile games that make revenue from in-game purchases. Its business quickly declined as rival games such as Supercell’s “Clash of Clans” and King’s “Candy Crush Saga” took over. Rovio booked an operating loss and cut a third of its staff in 2015.