Report: Rovio Looking To List Hong Kong IPO In 2013

Angry Birds developer Rovio is looking to list an initial public offering on the Hong Kong stock exchange sometime in 2013, according to media reports. Angry Birds is one of the most successful video game franchises ever created, with over 500 million downloads across all its versions and platforms as of last month. Speaking to Finnish weekly magazine Tekniikka&Talous, and as reported by Reuters, Rovio's marketing chief Peter Vesterbacka revealed that the company is looking to grow into a media firm with a market capitalization around the same as that of Walt Disney Co, which has a share value of $65.3 billion. "That is the target. There is no reason why we should not be able to build a company of that size," he suggested. He also revealed that Rovio should see revenues of $100 million for the 2011 fiscal year, up significantly from revenues of $10 million in the previous year. Rovio had already said previously this year that it was looking to make an initial public stock offering sometime in the next five years in the U.S., noting that "our fans are primarily in the U.S., so it's easy for us to bring our brand there." This new report did not note why the company has changed its mind, and now wants to list via on Hong Kong stock exchange instead.