Game on: Zynga seeks to raise $1.15 bn in IPO

Zynga plans to raise up to $1.15 billion in a highly anticipated initial public offering that values the US online games giant at $7 billion. Zynga, in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday, set the price for its IPO at between $8.50 and $10 per share. The company plans to offer 100 million shares, or 14 percent of its outstanding shares, and its underwriters have the option of selling an additional 15 million shares. Zynga will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "ZNGA." Zynga could begin trading some time in the next two weeks, according to Renaissance Capital, a research company that specializes in IPOs. Founded in 2007, the San Francisco-based Zynga makes popular games such as "FarmVille," "CityVille," "Mafia Wars" and "Zynga Poker" that run on Facebook and other sites. The company boasts around 230 million players per month in 175 countries, dwarfing its social gaming competitors, and reported cumulative revenue of $1.5 billion in its SEC filing. Revenue soared nearly five-fold last year over the previous year to $597.4 million and Zynga reported a net profit of $27.89 million. For the first nine months of this year, Zynga reported revenue of 828.9 million, up from $401.7 million during the same period last year. Zynga games are free to play but the company makes money by selling virtual in-game goods to players and serving up advertising. Zynga filed with the SEC to go public in July but the listing has been delayed by volatility in the stock market and the uncertain outlook for IPOs. Online daily deals sensation Groupon went public last month, raising $700 million in the biggest initial public offering by an Internet company since Google. Groupon began trading on the Nasdaq at $20 and its shares rose as high as $31.14 on the first day. Groupon shares fell below their list price last week, however, and they closed at $18.95 on Wall Street on Thursday. Career-oriented social network LinkedIn went public in May at $45 a share and closed at $67.78 on Thursday.