DoubleDown Interactive files for $100m US IPO
DoubleDown Interactive, the social casino giant majority owned by South Korea’s DoubleU Games, is looking to raise up to $100m from an initial public offering on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
In a filing with the Korea Stock Exchange (KRX), DoubleU said the offering would provide funding to support strategic acquisitions, as well as repaying financial investors.
This will see it issue 400,000 new ordinary shares in the business, as well as putting 360,000 shares currently held by South Korean venture capital fund STIC Investments up for sale.
While pricing details have not yet been provided, a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission reveals the business expects to generate up to $100m through the listing.
Seattle-based DoubleDown emerged as one of the major players in social casino in 2012, when International Game Technology’s (IGT) acquired the business in a $500m deal. This came amid a flurry of social casino M&A, which saw a number of real-money gaming business acquire free-to-play studios.
IGT then agreed to sell the business to a subsidiary of DoubleU Games in an $825m deal in April 2017, completing the sale in June that year.
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