Nexon Stock Declines During IPO First Day

Online game publisher Nexon listed its initial public offering today, and is looking to use the money raised to make a number of new acquisitions. However, during its first listed day, the MapleStory publisher saw its stock price fall more than the benchmark Topix index decline for the day. According to business news website Bloomberg, Nexon raised $1.17 billion in its initial share sale, as set by the company earlier this month, making it the second-largest technology IPO worldwide this year. Nexon's chief financial officer Owen Mahoney said of the company's future plans, "We want to have currency and cash on hand to be able to move aggressively if and when opportunities come up. We like to buy teams and properties early in their life." Yet while the IPO opened with shares at ¥1,300 ($16.68) each on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, that price had fallen to ¥1,249 ($16.02) by the end of the day, with a 3.9 percent drop compared to the 0.5 percent drop in the benchmark Topix index. Social games giant Zynga is also set to list its initial public offering this week, and is looking to raise between $850 million and $1 billion as part of the IPO, with a $5.9 billion to $6.99 billion valuation.