Netmarble eyes $2.4 billion IPO

South Korean mobile outfit Netmarble are hoping to raise as much as $2.4 billion through an IPO, which would make it the second-biggest IPO in South Korea’s history.

This news comes from Bloomberg, who state that Netmarble is looking to sell 17 million shares at 121,000 won ($108) to 157,000 won ($140) a piece. If the IPO is successful, the company would be valued at 13.3 trillion won ($11.6b).

Netmarble Games is South Korea’s largest mobile phone studio, and is now the ninth-largest video game publisher in the world, according to data from analytics outfit App Annie. The company was founded by Bang Jun-hyuk in 2000, with 100 million won ($89500) and has since found success with several mobile hits,

The money from the IPO is to be used, in part, to pay down debts amounting to 897b won, the filing has said, with the rest to be used for deals in investments, as Netmarble aims to climb into the top five global gaming companies by 2020.