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The Wall Street Journal’s All Things Digital blog is reporting that Zynga is set to file for its initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission as early as this week. This move is not entirely unexpected considering how well the recent IPOs of several Internet companies have done recently (e.g., LinkedIn and Russian search giant Yandex). Zynga’s strong performances show the huge investor appetite for fast-growing and high-profile Web 2.0 firms.Its early titles, such as FarmVille and Mafia Wars, first vaunted the San Francisco-based company into consumer prominence, and it has recently struck a number of high-profile branding deals with Lady Gaga and the makers of the upcoming animated movie “Kung Fu Panda 2,” among others.
Zynga’s valuation in its last round of funding was $10 billion, but it is likely to price itself higher in an offering. After all, LinkedIn now has a market valuation of $9 billion, double its pre-IPO price. Whatever the price, a Zynga IPO is a major coup, especially given how quickly it has morphed into one of the most important forces in online gaming, largely via distribution on the Facebook platform.
The company claims that it has 250 million active players of its games every month. Its largest game currently is CityVille, which attracts 90 million monthly users, reports AppData. Its original Poker game still manages to attract 35 million monthly users.
Zynga reportedly generated about $400 million in profit last year on about $850 million in revenue, although sources said the filing may reveal much more robust numbers. Moreover, the company has grown its work force quickly. Last year, Zynga hired more than 800 people and today has more than 1,500 full-time employees in 13 offices, spanning six countries.
by ys
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