Chess and poker app maker Boyaa to snag $133 million in IPO

Shenzhen-based mobile games developer Boyaa Interactive announced it will start an initial public offering Thursday on the Hong Kong stock exchange. The IPO is expected to raise HKD 1.03 billion ($132.8 million) under the stock ticker HKG:0434. Among the company’s previous investors is Sequoia Capital.

The money will go towards promotion, expanding the company’s game portfolio, technical equipment, and potential acquisitions.

The company’s current portfolio covers 16 games including China’s most popular Chess app and a hugely popular Texas Hold’em app. It monetizes off of virtual in-game items. The prospectus says Boyaa’s web games have 249 million users and 101 million registered mobile players.

In the first half of this year, Boyaa reported RMB 3.1 billion ($509 million) revenue and RMB 104 million ($17 million) profit.

Boyaa joins several other Chinese companies applying for IPOs this time of year, including Qunar, Sungy Mobile, 58.com, Forgame Holdings (HKG:0484), Nuomi, and Alibaba.

(Source: QQ Tech – article in Chinese)

(Editing by Steven Millward)