Zynga reportedly entering new $250m round of funding
New estimates put social dev's value at $7-9 billion
A report has indicated that social gaming monolith Zynga is in talks with investors regarding a new round of funding, hoping to raise $250 million (£155.6m), and valuing the company somewhere between $7 and $9 billion.
The Wall St Journal report does not name sources, but cites "people familiar with the matter." If correct, the valuation would indicate a significant increase in the value of the company from a price tag of $4 billion which a stock issue established in April, 2010. More recent estimates from the secondary market of individual stock sales to investors, have identified a $5 billion valuation.
There are number of recent developments which have undoubtedly increased the company's value, such as the tremendously successful launch of CityVille, and a huge jump in headcount which saw the purchase of a new 2000 seat office in San Francisco, as well as a number of choice acquisitions.
Nonetheless, an estimation of $9 billion would undoubtedly reflect the current market's infatuation with social gaming and media, fuelled by the massive success of networks such as Facebook and Twitter.
Zynga has attracted a great deal of investment in its brief three year existence, raising $147 million from Japanese telecoms company Softbank, £180 million from Russian company Digital Sky technologies and a reported $100-$200 million from Google.