15 Sep 2009 13:18

Shanda Games to offer 63 mln ADS through IPO

Shanghai. September 15. INTERFAX-CHINA - Shanda Games Ltd. will offer 13.04 million American depositary shares (ADS) in its initial public offering (IPO) on Sept. 25 on the Nasdaq, while its parent Shanda Interactive Entertainment Ltd. will relinquish a stake in the subsidiary that is equal to 50 million ADS, according to its amended filing to the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Sept. 14.

The IPO share price will be between $10.5 and $12.5 and net proceeds from the offering are expected to reach $140.6 million, according to the amended prospectus filed by Shanda Games. It will trade under the symbol GAME.

"Shanda Games has entered a mature growth stage, and with its existing game stock almost equaling the number in its product pipeline, the firm can maintain sustainable revenue growth from game operations. The Nasdaq IPO will serve as a new financing source and benefit its product portfolio expansion," Yu Yi, an industry analyst with Analysys International, said.

Shanda Games had a user base of over 9.73 million as of June 30, and currently operates 18 massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), 11 other online games and is developing an additional 16 MMORPGs and eight other games.

The company generated revenue of $321.9 million and a net profit of $99.6 million in the first half of 2009, up 51.76 percent and 75.5 percent from the same period of 2008, respectively.

-HJL