이 기사는 2021년 07월 23일 07시21분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

DoubleDown Interactive (DDI), a social casino game developer and publisher owned by South Korea’s DoubleU Games, has decided to list its shares on the Nasdaq after two failed attempts.

DDI will issue its new shares at a range between 410,796 won ($357) and 457,480 won, according to the company on Wednesday. Based on the price range, the company plans to offer 49.5 million American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) at a price range of $18 to $20, which makes its corporate value between 1.01 trillion won and 1.13 trillion won.

The social casino game developer kicked off its initial public offering (IPO) process to list its shares on the Korean stock market at first, but it later chose New York as the listing venue in early 2020. The company believed it can be valued at more than 1 trillion won when it goes public on the Nasdaq whereas it was valued at around 700 billion won in Seoul in 2019.

DDI’s listing process, however, faced bumpy road as its bookbuilding process held in the first half of 2020 failed to draw sufficient response despite favorable market conditions and the company’s positive financial performance. Back then, DDI planned to raise proceeds at a price range of $17 to $19.

DoubleU Games geared up for its subsidiary's IPO again, hoping to go public in the second half of 2020 or the first half of 2021. But the company had an issue with its underwriters regarding the IPO timing and valuation, which made the company postpone the offering for the second time. DDI had hired JP Morgan, BofA Securities, and Macquarie Capital as its joint bookrunners, but newly selected B. Riley Securities to handle the IPO process.

Market insiders are paying attention whether the social casino game developer will be able to draw positive response this time.

DDI's valuation can be estimated by comparing it with Playstudios, a social casino developer backed by games titan Activision Blizzard. Playstudios recorded revenue of around $270 million in 2020 and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of $14.5 million in the first quarter of this year. The company’s market capitalization stands at around 1.1 trillion won.

DDI posted revenue of $358 million in 2020 and adjusted EBITDA of $33.1 million in the first quarter, which is significantly better than Playstudios’ financial performance. Industry observers said DDI’s market capitalization is expected to reach 1 trillion won after the IPO if the market value comparisons among peer companies are made in a timely manner during the IPO process.

The spread of the super-contagious Delta variant is also having a positive impact on the company. The shutdown of offline casinos due to the pandemic has made gamers flock into the social casino games.

Social casino game companies recorded their best financial performance in the second quarter of 2020 and have lost steam this year. Market insiders are paying attention whether favorable investor sentiment toward the social casino industry will recover amid a surge in Covid-19 cases again. (Reporting by Sang-woo Seong)