MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
News agency Reuters are reporting that Angry Birds developer Rovio could be looking to make an initial public offering (IPO) on the stock market.
The news comes amid rumours from Chinese news site The Information, that Tencent is looking to acquire the company.
In a statement to Reuters, Rovio said: "We and our shareholders regularly assess different alternatives to further develop Rovio. A stock exchange listing at some point in the future could be possible in order to support the continued strong growth of Rovio and its strategic targets. However, Rovio and its owners have not made any decisions regarding a possible IPO."
Tencent already owns one large developer based in Finland with Supercell being acquired in 2016 for a reported $8.6 billion. Rovio has had a lot of change in the last few years with revenue dropping, new studios opening and many changes in management. But the ship seems to have steadied in recent times and the Angry Birds IP has reinvigorated profits following a movie release based on the IP last year.
The report from The Information claims that Rovio is open to a deal and that Tencent is one of many companies looking to buy the Finnish developer. If Tencent did purchase Rovio then it would give the media giant an even bigger slice of the gaming market. The company has invested heavily in both mobile and triple-A gaming, acquiring Riot Games and buying stakes in Unreal Engine creator Epic Games and World of Warcraft developer Activision Blizzard.
