Candy Crush Developer's IPO Turns Sour on Market Debut

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King has filed its IPO, which will raise around $500m for the Candy Crush-developer.

Image: King.com

By Jason Abbruzzese2014-03-26 14:37:56 UTC

King Digital Entertainment is trading sharply lower in its first hours as a public company.

Shares in the maker of Candy Crush Saga moved as much as 15% below its $22.50 opening price on Wednesday morning, indicating that investors have become wary of mobile gaming companies that rely on revenue from hit games.

See also: 'Candy Crush' Is Bigger Than Twitter, But Probably Not For Long

The highly anticipated launch of King shares on the open market included a large flag draped across the New York Stock Exchange.

Candy Crush accounted for 78% of the company's fourth-quarter revenue in 2013, garnering comparisons to other gaming companies like Zynga. King raised just shy of $500 million in its IPO, which valued the company at about $7 billion.

Zynga has also struggled in the market. It currently trades at $4.61, well off its $10 IPO price.

King shares recovered slightly to trade about 9.7% lower at $20.31 in morning trading.

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Topics: Apps and Software, candy crush, Candy Crush Saga, Entertainment, Gaming, king digital entertainment, mobile gaming