IPVG's online gaming unit doubles capital

MANILA, Philippines - IP E-Game Ventures Inc., the online gaming unit of listed IPVG Corp., obtained the Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval to double its authorized capital stock to P100 million.

The increase in capitalization is in preparation for the firm’s planned listing by way of introduction on the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Listing by way of introduction involves the listing and trading of a company’s shares at the stock market without going through an initial public offering (IPO).

IP E-Game’s new capitalization consists of 100 million shares with a par value of P1 each share.

The company has tapped ATR KimEng Capital Partners Inc. as financial adviser for the listinG of its shares.

IP E-Game was organized on Nov. 22, 2005 mainly to engage in the business of interactive gaming and content distribution. It is currently one of the leading online game publishers in the country. It pioneered the free-to-play business model wherein gamers are not required to pay a subscription fee to play online games. 

Since it started operations in 2006, IP E-Game has launched five massively multiplayer online role-playing games or MMORPGs and four casual games in the Philippine market. The company has 28 main distributors with a network spanning approximately 20,000 outlets such as Internet cafes, independent kiosks, mini-carts and computer shops.  As of June 30, 2009, IP E-Game has 10 million registered gamers all over the country.

MMORPGs allow a large number of players to interact with one another over the Internet in a virtual world.

The company’s MMORPG portfolio includes CABAL Online, a futuristic fantasy game, RAN Online, a modern campus-themed game; which are the two leaders in terms of online games most often played in the country based on a survey conducted in August 2008; and ZZX Online, a Chinese war.

IP E-Game’s plans to release Runes of Magic, a quest-based MMORPG, at the end of 2009.

In comparison to MMORPGs, casual online games are easier to play and are targeted at a mass audience. 

The company offers Audition, which was the most popular casual game in the world as of June 23, 2009 based on a press release by Redbana US Corp.; O2 Jam which was the leading online music game in the country based on the same study; FIFA Online 2 ( a casual online football game); and Operation7 (a first person shooter game).