Bottom Line: King has to build a wider empire March 26, 2014 NOTHING suggests the triumph of image over substance like sending giant, candy-coloured cartoon figures to stand behind your executives for a New York Stock Exchange debut. Investors refused to be charmed by King Digital’s big-eyed mascots, and instead sent their spirits plummeting as soon as chief exec Riccardo Zacconi declared the US market open. The [...]
King crushes US with $7bn float March 25, 2014 THE BRITISH firm behind hit mobile game Candy Crush Saga will make its stock market debut today, in a blockbuster flotation that values the company at more than $7bn (£4.2bn). King Digital Entertainment, which will start trading on the New York Stock Exchange this afternoon, sold 22.2m shares priced at $22.50 – the midpoint of their [...]
Box joins flood of tech firms listing stock with $250m float March 24, 2014 ONLINE storage site Box last night announced its intention to float on the New York Stock Exchange. The cloud-based business wants to raise $250m (£151.5m) in the initial public offering (IPO). Box has more than 25m registered users and 34,000 paying organisations, and its revenues are soaring – it brought in $124.2m in the 12 [...]
Three tech firms surge to $260bn on grey market March 24, 2014 THREE upcoming initial public offerings (IPOs) from tech firms King Digital Entertainment, Alibaba and Just Eat are all set to beat analyst expectations with a combined valuation of over $260bn (£158bn), according to IG’s IPO grey market. King, the British games giant and creator of Candy Crush Saga, has already hit a valuation of $8.7bn, [...]
Top ten budgeting apps: balance your books with tech downloads March 19, 2014 Now you’ve finished reading about The Budget, have you thought about your own finances? Look no further because technology has the solution. Melissa York introduces the apps that will get you back in the black METER READINGS 99p, Apple App Store Never have an unexpected or inaccurate utility bill land on your doorstep again by keeping [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 19 March 2014 March 18, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Labour pledges power to Scotland The Labour party has pledged more powers for Scotland in an attempt to bolster pro-union support six months before September’s referendum on independence. The prospects for devolution have become a battleground between pro-union campaigners and nationalists who argue that only independence would let Scotland decide its economic destiny. [...]
Website star David Buttress backs London March 17, 2014 WHEN King.com decided earlier this year to float in New York, it appeared as if London’s larger flourishing technology companies were all headed for listings across the Atlantic, writes David Hellier. Experts talked about the better ecosystem in New York, the plentiful technology analysts, and a fuller understanding of the sector’s growth potential. But yesterday [...]
Why Yahoo shares are jumping on Alibaba market debut March 17, 2014 Investors are proving just how excited they are about the news that Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant, is heading for a market debut. Yahoo shares rose over four per cent at the opening bell, and leapt almost six per cent in pre-market trading today. That’s no surprise: Yahoo owns a 24 per cent stake in [...]
Alibaba heading to New York for market debut March 17, 2014 CHINESE e-commerce giant Alibaba said yesterday that it has decided to pursue an initial public offering (IPO) in the US, ending months of speculation that the firm would try to list in Hong Kong. The flotation could be the biggest since Facebook in 2012, with analysts estimating that Alibaba has a value of at least [...]
FTSE chairman Gareth Davis tells us why he’s in no rush to retire March 17, 2014 Serial chairman and former tobacco boss Gareth Davis tells Elizabeth Fournier how he juggles three FTSE-listed firms THE ROLE of a company chairman is a tricky one. As head of the board, a good chair is expected to lead from the front; hiring, firing and managing its members, while keeping one eye on governance and [...]