The value of the company that has developed and runs the children's online gaming platform Roblox has skyrocketed during the novel coronavirus pandemic season.
With the company raising $520m in private capital in a funding round earlier this week, the market value of the company reached a total of $29.5bn which is seven times the value of the company that was known in February of this year.
The company now plans to aggressively go ahead with its plan of a listing in an exchange in the United States – a plan that was shelved by the company last year. The fresh funds that has now been made available with the company after the funding round will be used by it to build its community in its efforts to become more of a social platform, the company said.
Even though it was way back in 2006 that the company had released the game Roblox, it is only during the Covid-19 pandemic that the game has seen dramatic growth as children latched on to it as they were forced to stay back at home because of the restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of the pandemic and thus got engaged in playing video games more. .
According to the prospectus of the company, it saw a 91 per cent year on year increase in its revenues this year $242.2m. While the game itself, in which players can create avatars across different titles, is free to play, the company earns revenues by selling digital currency called Robux which can be used for purchasing virtual goods and to enhance characters.
The plans of the company to get itself listed at a US exchange are now slightly changed compared to the company’s original plans as it will now have a direct listing instead of the traditional mode of making an initial public offering (IPO).
For companies that get .listed directly, there is typically no capital raising by the companies and there is no binding of a lockup period to come to an end for investors before they can sell their shares.
Since US regulators approved them, there have only been a few companies that have opted for direct listings which includes the music streaming service Spotify.
Altimeter Capital and Dragoneer Investment Group led the $520m of private financing for the company. Warner Music Group is also one of several current investors.
"The proceeds from the financing will advance Roblox's growth initiatives and mission to build a human co-experience platform that enables shared experiences among billions of users," Roblox said in a statement.
The gaming platform of Roblox has millions of games which are essentially built by its users. Such creators get a share of the revenues that their fames earn. During the first nine months of 2020, the platform had 31 million daily active users which was 82 per cent higher than in the same period a year ago.
"As the world moves toward a hybrid future - where online and offline community and learning co-exist, we are proud to back a values-driven business that takes seriously its obligation to build an inclusive, creative, and positive community," Altimeter Capital's chief executive Brad Gerstner said.
(Source:www.bbc.com)
With the company raising $520m in private capital in a funding round earlier this week, the market value of the company reached a total of $29.5bn which is seven times the value of the company that was known in February of this year.
The company now plans to aggressively go ahead with its plan of a listing in an exchange in the United States – a plan that was shelved by the company last year. The fresh funds that has now been made available with the company after the funding round will be used by it to build its community in its efforts to become more of a social platform, the company said.
Even though it was way back in 2006 that the company had released the game Roblox, it is only during the Covid-19 pandemic that the game has seen dramatic growth as children latched on to it as they were forced to stay back at home because of the restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of the pandemic and thus got engaged in playing video games more. .
According to the prospectus of the company, it saw a 91 per cent year on year increase in its revenues this year $242.2m. While the game itself, in which players can create avatars across different titles, is free to play, the company earns revenues by selling digital currency called Robux which can be used for purchasing virtual goods and to enhance characters.
The plans of the company to get itself listed at a US exchange are now slightly changed compared to the company’s original plans as it will now have a direct listing instead of the traditional mode of making an initial public offering (IPO).
For companies that get .listed directly, there is typically no capital raising by the companies and there is no binding of a lockup period to come to an end for investors before they can sell their shares.
Since US regulators approved them, there have only been a few companies that have opted for direct listings which includes the music streaming service Spotify.
Altimeter Capital and Dragoneer Investment Group led the $520m of private financing for the company. Warner Music Group is also one of several current investors.
"The proceeds from the financing will advance Roblox's growth initiatives and mission to build a human co-experience platform that enables shared experiences among billions of users," Roblox said in a statement.
The gaming platform of Roblox has millions of games which are essentially built by its users. Such creators get a share of the revenues that their fames earn. During the first nine months of 2020, the platform had 31 million daily active users which was 82 per cent higher than in the same period a year ago.
"As the world moves toward a hybrid future - where online and offline community and learning co-exist, we are proud to back a values-driven business that takes seriously its obligation to build an inclusive, creative, and positive community," Altimeter Capital's chief executive Brad Gerstner said.
(Source:www.bbc.com)
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