Thunderful Group Prepares For IPO On NASDAQ First North At $395m Valuation

? IPO

• Sweden-based gaming-related business Thunderful Group AB prepares for IPO on NASDAQ First North Premier Growth Market. As a result of the listing, the company aims to raise around $90m (SEK 750m) at approximately $395m (SEK 3.4B) valuation.

  The offering will consist of both newly issued and existing shares offered by selling shareholders. The final terms and conditions of the offering will be published later. However, several investors have already confirmed their interest in Thunderful Group’s shares with plans to acquire roughly $70m (17.5% stake).

• Full terms and conditions of the Offering are now being considered by the company and will be published later

• Thunderful Group has also reported its financial results for previous years:

  • In 2019, the company saw an operating income of $244m with an adjusted EBITDA of $26.7m

  • In the period of Q1—Q3 2020, the company’s unaudited operating income increased by 61.5% compared to the same period of the last year and reached $209m with an adjusted EBITDA of $22.7m

?Strategic Rationale

• Thunderful Group AB is planning to use the proceeds to further expand and acquire new facilities, support the development of new games, and repay shareholders debts, occurred due to the recent acquisition of Coatsink

• Also, the offering is expected to increase the awareness among customers, suppliers, partners and potential M&A targets

? Thunderful Group’s Previous Deals

• In November 2020, Thunderful Group acquired Sweden-based multiplatform game developer Station Interactive for an undisclosed sum

• In October 2020, Thunderful Group acquired UK-based game developer and publisher Coatsink for up to $84.8m including earn-out

• In February 2020, Thunderful Group acquired Sweden-based game developer Guru Games for an undisclosed sum

• In July 2018, Thunderful Group acquired UK-based game  developer and publisher Rising Star Games for an undisclosed sum

? Products

• Thunderful Group AB operates two business divisions:

  • Distribution (91% of total net revenue) including distribution of Nintendo products (Bergsala), toys (Amo Toys), and gaming accessories and boxed games (Nordic Game Supply);

  • Games (~9% of total net revenue), including development and publishing of video games. The division shows rapid growth given recently announced closed transactions, mentioned above.

• Now the gaming division of Thunderful owns several subsidiary game developing and publishing companies:

• In the gaming division of the Sweden-based game publisher Thunderful Games that helps indie game studios publish and advertise their games on PC, all major consoles, mobile, and Oculus Quest platforms

• Sweden-based multiplatform game developer Image & Form Games that created Steamworld series, Anthill, and The Gunk

• Sweden-based multiplatform game developer Zoink that stands behind such titles, as Ghost Giant, Fe, Lost in Random, Flipping Death, Zombie Vikings, Stick it to The Man, and others

• UK-based PC&console game developer and publisher Rising Star Games, that created and published more than 130 games, including Decay of Logos and Deadly Premonition series

• Sweden-based multiplatform game developer Guru Games, that developed Medusa’s Labyrinth, Medusa VR, Magnetic: Cage Closed, Blamdown: Udder Fury, and Crazy Sorting Factory

• UK-based multiplatform game developer and publisher Coatsink, known for its titles Transformers: Battlegrounds, Phogs!, Asper series, and others

• Sweden-based multiplatform game developer Station Interactive, mostly known for such titles, as LittleBigPlanet series, Run, Sackboy! Run, and Snipers VS Thieves

 SOURCES: GAMESINDUSTRY, THUNDERFULGROUP