6 minutes reading time (1139 words)

Candy Crush Saga on Wall Street

News Tech

Wednesday, 19 February 2014

384 Hits

On the 18 of February of 2014, it was revealed King Digital Entertainment had decided to take the popular game Candy Crush Saga to the stock market. That's right; the digital entertainment company has agreed to file for an IPO or Initial Public Offering, making the game a tangible investment option. If you are not familiar with what IPO or Initial Public Offering means, it is when a private firm offers its stock to the public on a securities exchange for the first time. A reasonable goal, given that many people are hooked on Candy Crush Saga and have become addicted to trying to beat their high scores or finding new levels of different challenges in this addictive game! This has made Candy Crush Saga more than just another game on your phone; it is now an investment option.

Candy Crush Saga is a viral game that has been downloaded more than 500 million times on mobile devices. Candy Crush Saga from King Digital Entertainment is a free-to-play game, but the company makes money by offering players extra lives and other items for sale within the app itself. In their filing with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), King Digital Entertainment stated that they believe Candy Crush will be worth $500 million. Still, it might even reach $900 million before too long! Candy Crush generated an estimated $550 million revenue last year. Analysts predict it could bring in more than $970 next year if you consider its current popularity and how much time people spend playing this addictive game.

The Candy Crush IPO comes at a good time because of all the success we have seen from games like Angry Birds, which became such popular apps when combining both Apple's iOS App Store and Google's Android Play Store. Candy Crush is taking advantage of the market by letting everyone take a chance at investing in this potentially highly lucrative company before they go public next month, possibly generating even more revenue than analysts have predicted!

The Candy Crush IPO filing also comes at a time when many other companies are going to be following suit with King Digital Entertainment. Since King Digital Entertainment has been such a successful venture, investors will want to get their hands on stocks from similar companies like Zynga or Rovio. Both Zynga and Rovio released games last year but did not generate as much financial success as Candy Crush did throughout 2013. For example, Angry Birds generated only $100 million during 2013, while Candy Crush brought in an estimated $550 million back then.

Candy Crush Saga on Wall Street | Image Credit: CBS

Investors are excited about the IPO because it offers an opportunity to invest in something new and different. Candy Crush Saga is a viral game with over 93 million players, and it has made King Digital Entertainment over $568.26 million in revenue last year alone! The company was founded back in 2003, they have brought more than 320 games to consumers, but Candy Crush Saga is clearly their best performing title. Candy Crush Saga is responsible for 78% of all money spent on its online network during Q-tr (quarter).

King Digital CEO Riccardo Zacconi said that "We believe we are just at the beginning of our potential opportunity." Investors should be excited about this IPO because Candy Crush Saga makes up most of King's digital income and will help finance future projects/titles that can also turn into big earners. I hope Candy Crush Saga becomes a big hit with investors because I would love to see what other projects/titles they can develop in the future!

Investing in this company comes with some risks associated with it because they haven't released their earnings yet. Candy Crush Saga also has a straightforward concept to understand, making it hard for many investors because they want something more complex. Despite these drawbacks, Candy Crush is still in the top 50 grossing games on iOS and Android, which shows its success compared with other companies out there.

If you're interested in investing, here's what you should know before buying into the IPO. Candy Crush Saga, which is played by millions worldwide, is a mobile game. It's a free download for iOS and Android devices but does have in-app purchases. Candy Crush Saga makes its money from this feature because players can spend real cash to purchase extra lives or other features that help them progress through the levels faster. In fact, it was estimated King Digital brought in $654 million revenue just last year from their games Candy Crush Saga and Farm Heroes Super Saga combined!

King Digital Entertainment has been around since 2003, releasing online versions of board games like Scrabble and Monopoly as well as original titles such as Pet Rescue, Bubble Witch Slots, Papa Pear, among others. The company hopes to go public on NASDAQ under the name KING. King Digital Entertainment also wants to go public on the London Stock Exchange. If Candy Crush Saga becomes a huge success, it could make investors very, very rich.

The IPO for Candy Crush Saga is expected to price between $21 and 23 per share with an initial market capitalization of around $11 billion dollars. With these numbers in mind, Candy Crush Saga would be worth more than Zynga (NASDAQ: ZNGA), which has a valuation of about $14 billion at its current stock price. The game maker hopes to raise as much as $500 million from this deal, but some analysts believe they will bring in more because so many people are playing their games daily or engaging with them frequently via Facebook (NASDAQ: FB).

Conclusion:

If you are one that is interested in investing in the popular game Candy Crush Saga, King Digital Entertainment's IPO may be your opportunity. But don't wait to invest! King Digital Entertainment has a goal of reaching at least $500 million in the initial offering. Based on King Digital Entertainment's success so far, it is not unreasonable for them to achieve this goal. It will only take one investor with deep pockets or one group that wants to get into gaming stocks together to push past this benchmark. Then, everyone who puts money into the Initial Public Offering could see an increase. Remember, though; investors should beware because there are risks associated with any investment decision they make. This may include the risk of capital loss which can never be eliminated but minimized by diversifying your investments across many different types of assets. Candy Crush Saga may be the next big thing for investors, but it's always good to know what exactly you're getting into before making a decision!