Game giant Zynga on track for December IPO: report

It cited an unnamed source as saying the company -- maker of Cityville and Farmville -- would revise its prospectus by the end of the week and be on track for an initial public offering (IPO) by the middle of next month.

The company first filed paperwork for the IPO in July, aiming to raise some $1 billion, but has delayed the move because of market volatility. It is expected to command a market valuation of $15-20 billion.

Local bargain community Groupon, professional social network LinkedIn and consumer reviews website Angie's List each saw stock prices leap during initial public offerings (IPOs) this year.

But share prices in each company are now near or below where they were when the firms debuted on the trading floor, raising fears of another tech bubble like the dot-com boom of the late 1990s.

Founded in 2007, the San Francisco-based Zynga makes popular games that run on social networking site Facebook, including Zynga Poker and Mafia Wars.

The company boasts more than 230 million players per month, dwarfing its social gaming competitors.

According to its SEC filing, Zynga enjoyed $235.4 million in revenue in the first three months of the year, compared to just $100.9 million in the same period of 2010.

Facebook itself is reportedly mulling its own IPO as early as April of next year, a move hotly anticipated by investors and one that could see the company valued at more than $100 billion.

(c) 2011 AFP