Candy Crush On: King Files For IPO
By Nick Tylwalk
Just days after word was that King was considering delaying its IPO, the maker of “Candy Crush Saga” has had a change of heart — or maybe the buzz just misread the company’s heart.
In any case, King filed paperwork with the SEC today for its IPO, signifying its intention to go public. It wants to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the totally sensible ticker symbol “KING.”
So, good times for King and everyone that wants to own a piece of the mobile company with the magic touch, right? Well, not everyone is enthusiastic about King’s prospects moving forward. Matthew Yglesias of Slate left no doubt about how he feels by titling his piece this moring “Candy Crush Staging IPO for Suckers.” His criticism mirrors that found in other places around the internets, where there are doubts that the company can follow up “Candy Crush Saga” with another hit of the same magnitude.
If that’s indeed the case, it’s possible King is making as much revenue from mobile games as it will ever make, and that the only way for its fortunes to go is down. Yglesias draws a parallel to the fate of Zynga, which bombed after its own IPO, and while the analogy isn’t a perfect one (Zynga was caught with its pants down when it came from transitioning from Facebook to mobile, for instance, something that King as down to a science), there’s some reason to be wary, at the very least.
I don’t pretend to be an expert on IPOs and stocks in general, but I do know you don’t want to buy high and sell low. It will be interesting to see how people feel abut King when its shares actually start trading.
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