Facebook games firm Zynga to raise $1bn from IPO

This article titled “Facebook games firm Zynga to raise bn from IPO” was written by Josh Halliday, for guardian.co.uk on Friday 2nd December 2011 12.26 UTC

Facebook games maker Zynga plans to raise bn (£630m) in its initial public offering, valuing the fledgling internet firm at bn.

The company behind popular Facebook games Farmville and Mafia Wars said in a regulatory filing on Friday that it intends to sell 115m shares – 14% of its common stock – at up to each.

The bn price tag will make Zynga the third-largest US gaming firm by market cap, behind World of Warcraft maker Activision Blizzard and Electronic Arts. Activision Blizzard was valued at .19bn and Electronic Arts was valued at .69bn when the stock markets closed on Thursday.

Zynga said it has 54 million active users in 175 countries across the world, many of whom play its range of Facebook games including CastleVille, Empires and Allies and Zynga Poker.

Mark Pincus, the Zynga founder and chief executive, will control 36.2% of voting stock after the flotation.