A photo capture from the Facebook account of the mega-hit computer game “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds.” (image: Bluehole Studio)
SEOUL, June 16 (Korea Bizwire) — Krafton Inc., the gaming giant behind the global smash hit “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds” (PUBG), said Wednesday it plans to raise as much as 5.6 trillion won (US$5 billion) through an initial public offering (IPO) that will likely place it as South Korea’s most valuable video game company.
The company plans to sell 10 million shares and has set its IPO price range at 458,000 won to 557,000 won per share, according to a regulatory filing.
The IPO, scheduled for next month, is expected to be one of the largest for a South Korean company after e-commerce giant Coupang Inc. raised $4.5 billion via its U.S. market debut earlier this year.
Based on its IPO price, Krafton’s value is estimated to be as much as 28 trillion won, exceeding the market caps of other South Korean game giants, such as NCSOFT Corp. at 18.6 trillion won and Netmarble Corp. at 11.3 trillion won.
Tokyo-listed Nexon Co. has a market cap of around 2.3 trillion yen (US$20.9 billion).
Established in 2007, Krafton became a major contender in the global video market after its launch of PUBG in 2017.
The battle royale style game, in which users fight to remain as the last person alive, has been hugely popular worldwide, with Krafton selling over 75 million copies of the game for PCs and consoles.
The mobile version of the game has racked up over 1 billion downloads globally, excluding China.
Krafton said it seeks to strengthen its intellectual property portfolio and is planning mergers and acquisitions of promising companies via the IPO. It also plans to enter new markets, including India and the Middle East.
(Yonhap)
