Moshi Monsters, Habbo Hotel creators wary of IPO
Social firms won't be following PopCap and going public anytime soon
Moshi Monsters creator Mind Candy and Habbo Hotel developer Sulake are not likely to float shares anytime soon, preferring to build their respective businesses amongst a flurry of IPO talk and sky-high social valuations.
Speaking to Reuters, both firms indicated it's too soon to go public, while Angry Birds creator Rovio has also seemingly cooled plans to become listed on Nasdaq.
"I just want to keep my head down and build an amazing brand without getting too distracted by the offers of IPOs, investment bankers and discussions with media companies," said Michael Acton Smith, CEO of Mind Candy.
"An IPO is something that we're considering but I think it's too early. There's still a huge amount of value to be built."
Last week Plants Vs Zombies creator PopCap said it was heading for an IPO as early as November but CEO David Roberts did indicate that could be delayed depending on the market.
Gameloft's CEO Alexandre De Rochefort went as far as to say that the current valuations of social firms, whether in the games market or not, is too high and he expects a crash.