The Israeli leading mobile gaming entertainment company Playtika announced that its board of directors initiated a process to evaluate Playtika’s potential strategic alternatives, including selling the company “or other possible transactions.”
The announcement was made In its earnings report on Thursday.
Playtika reported sales of $649 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, up 13.2 percent from the previous quarter. Profitability increased to $102.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, up from $76 million in the fourth quarter of 2019. The upward trend has continued into 2022, with Playtika reporting that January income increased 9.2 percent over January 2021, while player count increased 12.8 percent over January 2021.
Playtika went public in January 2021 with an $11 billion valuation but is still trading at a market cap of roughly $8.75 billion, below its IPO valuation despite Thursday’s jump in share price.
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Founded in 2010 by Robert Antokol and Uri Shahak, Playtika was one of the first companies to offer free-to-play social games on social media and, shortly thereafter, on mobile platforms.
Headquartered in Herzliya, Israel, the company operates 20 offices globally and employs over 4,000 people, with 35 million monthly active users across a diverse portfolio of games.
One year after it was established, in 2011, Playtika was acquired by Caesars Entertainment for $80 million to $90 million. In 2016, a Chinese consortium, led by Yuzhu Shi, acquired the company for $4.4 billion.
A month ago, the controlling shareholder said it is considering selling a stake equal to up to 25% of the company’s outstanding shares.
Playtika has recruited The Raine Group as its financial advisor and Latham & Watkins LLP as its legal counsel to assist with the strategic review process.
