VC-backed King to begin trading at $22.50 per share

The initial price per share sits in the middle of the expected $21-24 price range. The company should raise $500m at that price, valuing it at more than $7bn. Net proceeds from the offering should amount to $326m.

Close to 6.6 million shares are being sold by existing shareholders in the company including Apax Partners and Index Ventures, with a further 15.5 million being offered by King.

An additional 3.33 million shares from the selling shareholders are being offered to the underwriters as an overallotment option. King will sell 25.53 million shares in total in its IPO and will list its shares on the NYSE under the ticker symbol "KING".

The company filed for its IPO last month, and JP Morgan, Credit Suisse and Bank of America Merrill Lynch were appointed lead underwriters for the flotation.

Apax backed King in September 2005 when the company was called Midasplayer – it changed its name to King the following November. According to unquote" data, Apax and Index invested €34m in the business in exchange for minority stakes.

Company
Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Dublin, King is the developer of Candy Crush Saga, a very popular video game that has been downloaded more than 500 million times since it was released as an app for mobile phones in 2012.

With a development centre in Stockholm, the company employs around 400 staff. King also has offices in London and San Francisco. The company's website, King.com, is available in nine languages and seven currencies.

People
King's CEO is co-founder Riccardo Zacconi.

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