Mobile gaming platform Skillz Inc will go public on the New York Stock Exchange through a merger with special purpose acquisition company Flying Eagle Acquisition Corp.
Skillz, which offers multiplayer skill-based mobile games such as Solitaire Cube, 21 Blitz and Dominoes Gold, will trade on the exchange when the deal closes in Fall 2020.
The deal would give Skillz an implied equity valuation of $3.5bn, which it says is 6.3 times its estimated 2022 revenue.
Skillz is said handle $1.6bn in paid entry fees for more than 2bn games hosted on its platform in 2020.
“Today we’re a leader in casual esports and are well positioned to capture the global esports opportunity which will increasingly define the gaming market,” Skillz founder and chief executive Andrew Paradise said.
Flying Eagle Acquisition Corp was founded by former Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer chief executive Harry Sloan, who currently serves as its chief executive. Sloan was also one of the executives behind Diamond Eagle Acquisition Corp, the special purpose acquisition vehicle used for DraftKings’ public listing.
Sloan was a founding investor and board member of ZeniMax Media, which owns Doom developer id Software and Fallout developer Bethesda Studios.
Jeff Sagansky and Eli Baker, who led Diamond Eagle’s move to take sports betting giant DraftKings public, are managing members of Flying Eagle.
After the closure of the deal, Skillz is expected to have cash assets of around $250m, which it will use to expand in the US and elsewhere, to support marketing and for working capital.