South Korea’s video-game maker undershoots in IPO

  • 7/2/2021
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HONG KONG, July 2 (Reuters Breakingviews) - In the survival-themed hit game "PlayerUnknown"s Battlegrounds", players shoot their way to victory. Parent Krafton (259960.KS), however, missed its target in its initial public offering. The Tencent-backed (0700.HK) company cut the deal size read more after South Korea"s regulator warned it needed to revise its filings. Local media reports that Krafton"s ambitious valuation was probably the reason. In its revisions, Krafton notably removed companies like Walt Disney (DIS.N) and Warner Music Group (WMG.O) from its peer group. At the top of the latest indicative price range, Krafton will raise $3.8 billion, down from the initial target of as much as $4.9 billion. That implies an equity valuation of up to $21.5 billion, according to analyst Sanghyun Park, who publishes on SmartKarma, or 36 times the company"s own forecast 2021 earnings. That"s broadly in line with South Korean gaming rivals read more like Kakao Games (293490.KQ) and NetMarble (251270.KS). Unlike Disney, which spans films, theme parks and more and trades on a much richer multiple, Krafton relies on the PUBG franchise for most its revenue. The company may have broader future ambitions, but that’s another game. (By Robyn Mak) On Twitter http://twitter.com/breakingviews Capital Calls - More concise insights on global finance: It sure feels good to be a banker read more UK finance shakeup papers over post-Brexit cracks read more Worldline’s Italian deal heats up payments M&A read more Nissan only partially fixes UK battery shortage read more Caravans hit the fast lane read more

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