The British mobile gaming firm behind the puzzle game ‘Candy Crush Saga’, King.com, has secretly filed for an initial public offering with the US Securities Exchange Commission, according to sources close to the game maker.
Under the US’ Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, firms with less than $1bn of revenue per year can file their confidential pre-IPO documents, prior to their publishing three weeks before their search for potential investors.
Citing a company source, The Daily Telegraph revealed that the UK game maker has appointed Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse Group and JPMorgan Chase & Co to guide the offering.
Established in 2003, King offers about 150 games in 14 languages via mobile phones, Facebook as well as its website, while boasting an anticipated one billion gameplays per day from its consumers.
King rolled out its first mobile game, Bubble Witch Saga, in July 2012, while the launch of Candy Crush Saga’s mobile version in November 2012 had sparked its growth.
Earlier, King has also raised €34m from investment firms including Apax Partners and Index Ventures in September 2005.
Last month, Twitter also filed a Form S1 with the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) for its planned IPO issue, which was already filed the documents confidentially under special laws.
