Korean social gaming operator DoubleU Games has terminated its contract with the underwriter responsible for listing its DoubleDown Interactive subsidiary on the Nasdaq exchange, and will now select a new representative to continue the process of going public.
DoubleDown announced its plans to raise around $100m via the Initial Public Offering (IPO) in June last year, with the capital raised intended to support strategic acquisitions, as well as repaying financial investors.
The figure was revised later that month, as pricing for the IPO was announced, and the business was set to raise as much as $209m via the offering.
In July, the DoubleU announced that the effects of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic meant that it would put its listing plans on hold, as it believed the economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic had resulted in a decline in investor appetite.
However, it later revived the plans to spin the DoubleDown business off and launch an IPO.
DoubleU Games said today that the listing of Double Down Interactive was its top priority, and therefore minimising the delay in completing the process by appointing a underwriter was the best decision for the company.
It said that most of the listing procedures have already been completed, including submitting the relevant documents to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, and holding an analyst meeting in May.
According to its statement, only the final stages of the public offering process remained to be completed, but the company had failed to reach an agreement with its representative underwriter regarding the listing time, and had therefore terminated its contract.
Last month, DoubleU Games reported a 19.3% increase in revenue for the first quarter of 2021, the majority of which came from DoubleDown Interactive.