‘Angry Birds’ maker IPO worth $1 billion

It turns out that “Angry Birds” is a billion-dollar idea.

Rovio Entertainment, the company behind the empire that encompasses video games, films and merchandise, was valued at $1 billion as it prepared to go public on Friday.

Rovio helped usher in the rise of smartphone games, with the release of the original “Angry Birds” in 2009. That game, where players aimed a flock of birds at an array of evil green pigs, spawned several spin-off titles, all of which have ranked among the most downloaded apps on smartphones and tablets. Overall, Rovio’s titles have been downloaded 3.7 billion times, the company said.

But the Finnish company, which initially charged for downloads, struggled financially after its initial “Angry Birds” success. People gravitated to games offered through a freemium model, in which players download the game for free and pay for additional features.

Rovio has since switched from paid apps to free downloads of its games, and its public offering is the latest sign of its changing fortunes. “Angry Birds” merchandise is widely available, and a sequel to the original “Angry Birds” film is slated for release in 2019.

The offering was priced at 11.50 euros per share (about $13.55), the top end of the price range announced this month, the company said. The company said that demand for its shares on offer was many times more than the amount available.

The pricing of its shares equates to a market capitalization of $1 billion, when Rovio begins initial trading on Nasdaq Helsinki on Friday. That is below the $2 billion valuation that some had estimated the company could receive earlier this summer.

The public offering marks the latest step in a tumultuous journey for Rovio.

Mikael Hed, a cofounder, stepped down as CEO in 2014, and the company announced plans to cut nearly 40 percent of its workforce the next year.

Rovio returned to making a profit in 2016.