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Candy Crush Saga developer King is gearing up for an IPO, according to a report.
People “familiar with the move” have told The Wall Street Journal that the London company has approached a number of banks to pursue a potential initial public offering in the US.
Banks including J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. Credit Suisse Group AG and Back of America have been identified to potentially handle any IPO.
The sources noted however that a date for the IPO and pricing had yet to be finalised.
A spokesman for King said the company was currently examining all options to help further growth, and that taking the company public could be one such route, but did not confirm whether such a decision had been made.
"King’s success and growth presents numerous opportunities for the business to develop further, and one option would be to take the company public,” read a statement.
“However, while it’s an option for the future, we would not comment on when we could consider making such a decision."
King has experienced huge success on mobile since making the shift from being a Facebook-only developer, garnering 80 million monthly average users in February for its titles such as Bubble With Saga and Candy Crush Saga. The developer also has numerous offices around the world.
Company execs may be wary however of the problems experienced by social gaming outfit Zynga when it launched its own initial public offering in December 2011, and subsequently shed around 70 per cent of its value, with numerous execs also leaving the company since.
It should be noted however that Zynga was a social gaming company with a heavy focus on Facebook games, and is now making a significant switch to mobile operations, where King is already a leader.
King has been nominated for the Business Development accolade at next month’s Develop Awards 2013. For more information, visit the official Develop Awards website.
