Jet Li-backed China game firm said to be planning Hong Kong IPO
Suzhou Snail Digital Technology, the mainland designer of online games - including one endorsed by movie star Jet Li - is considering an initial public offering in Hong Kong, two people with knowledge of the matter said.
Suzhou Snail Digital Technology, the mainland designer of online games - including one endorsed by movie star Jet Li - is considering an initial public offering in Hong Kong, two people with knowledge of the matter said.
The company, also known as Snail Game, is in the process of selecting investment banks to manage the offering, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information was private.
The share sale may raise as much as US$100 million next year, one of the people said.
Founded in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, in 2000, Snail Game was the first Chinese company to develop 3D online games, according to its website. Age of Wushu, endorsed by Li, was released by the company last year in China and the United States.
Officials at Snail Game were not available to comment on the IPO, a person who answered the phone at its Suzhou headquarters said.
In October 2007, NetDragon Websoft raised US$210 million in Hong Kong's last IPO of an online gaming company. The firm said on Tuesday it would sell its controlling stake in app store 91 Wireless to Baidu for US$1.09 billion.