DoubleU Games subsidiary DoubleDown Interactive raised $113.7m via an initial public offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq exchange in the US, just short of its expectations.
The business offered 6,316,000 American depositary shares (ADSs), each representing 0.05 common shares and priced at $18.00, with the aim of generating up to $126.3m.
Some 5,263,000 shares were offered by DoubleDown, with the remaining 1,053,000 sold by an unnamed shareholder, though the business will not receive any of that investor’s proceeds.
As such, after taking into account underwriting discounts, offering expenses and estimated offering expenses, DoubleDown expects to receive approximately $86.5m in net proceed from the offering.
Funds from the IPO will be used for general corporate purposes but may also be required to pay legal costs.
In conjunction with the offering, Il Sung Kang and Suk Ho Yun resigned as non-executive directors from the DoubleDown board in accordance with the terms of their appointment.
DoubleDown had been planning for the IPO for some time, first announcing the plan in June last year. However this was later delayed, with DoubleU claiming that the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic had weakened investor appetite.
DoubleU later revived the plans to spin the DoubleDown business off and launch an IPO, but had to seek a new underwriter, after claiming its initial representative had unnecessarily delayed the process. In June DoubleDown filed its registration statement for the Nasdaq listing.
In July, it was then forced to deny media reports that some of its executives illegally sold shares, describing the claims as “groundless”. The operator also faced class-action lawsuits in the US.
It is one of four major social gaming operators to list in 2021 to date, following Playtika, PlayStudios – through a special purpose acquisition company combination – and Huuuge, which listed on Poland’s Warsaw stock exchange .