PUBG developer banks on Aug IPO to raise USD3.7 bn

Krafton, the video game developer behind global hit PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), will raise 4.3 trillion won ($3.7 billion) in its initial public offering (IPO), the company said in a regulatory filing on Thursday.

Krafton said it priced its shares at 498,000 won each at the upper end of the range announced earlier this month.

The listing, scheduled for August 10, is expected to be one of the largest ever on the local bourse. Samsung Life Insurance holds the record for its 4.89 trillion won IPO in 2010, reports Yonhap news agency. While Krafton had initially sought to raise up to a record 5.6 trillion won, it lowered its pricing band after financial authorities requested revisions to its plan amid controversy of overvaluation. Krafton has downplayed overvaluation concerns, with the company saying in an online press conference that it is among a few players in the local tech and entertainment industry to hold a significant presence in the global market.

The video game maker has sold over 75 million copies of PUBG for PCs and consoles globally since its launch in 2017. The mobile version of the battle royale shooter, in which players fight each other until the last survivor, has reached 1 billion downloads globally, excluding China.

Krafton is eyeing active mergers and acquisitions after going public, with plans to spend 70 pc of the funds secured from the IPO in buying promising game developers.

The company is also expanding big in the Indian market.