IPVG unit sizzles in PSE debut as shares jump 50%

MANILA, Philippines - Leading online gaming publisher IP E-Game Ventures Inc. sizzled in its stock market debut yesterday, with its shares surging 50 percent to close at P75 each.

IP E-Game is the first online gaming company listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange with an introductory listing of 33.545 million common shares at an indicative price of P50 per share. A total of 803,300 shares were traded yesterday, valued at P60.25 million.

“This is a major milestone for our company. With this listing process, we are now positioned to access more funds and invest these funds in building the online gaming industry in the country. Listing does a lot for the company. It raises the bar in terms of how we interact with our stakeholders and gives us access to the capital market,” Enrique Y. Gonzalez, IP E-Game chief executive officer said in a press briefing yesterday following the listing ceremony.

Gonzalez said the company, a unit of listed technology conglomerate IPVG, is committed to undertake an initial public offering, possibly in the third or fourth quarter this year, subject to favorable market conditions. “Timing would be dependent on market conditions. Our preference is to do the IPO during a month where global and local markets are performing very well and there is sufficient appetite for a public offering so we can achieve the best optimum price,” he said.

Companies that list by way of introduction are required to conduct a public offering within one year from listing.

Gonzalez said the company is working closely with its financial adviser, ATR Kim-Eng Capital Partners Inc., on how to go about the IPO and possibly a private placement of shares.

He said IP E-Global Holdings Corp., which owns 76.96 percent of IP E-Game, is open to divesting 10 to 20 percent of its shareholdings in the online gaming firm at the right price, which should not be lower than P50. “We still want to keep majority control of the company,” Gonzalez said.

He addedthe company does not need see the immediate need to raise funds, pointing out that its P500 million in standby credit from GEM Global Yield Fund remains untapped.

To further cement its dominant foothold in the interactive gaming industry, IP e-Games is spending around P100 million for the continuous rollout of new titles and improvement of services – its biggest investment commitment since it started operations in 2006. The move is in line with the company’s bid to broaden its market share to 80 percent from the existing 41 to 50 percent.

“There are five titles in the pipeline and there are also plans to launch new business models and applications.  We’re investing for the future. The product launches this year will bear fruit in the next three to four years,” Gonzalez said,

IP E-Game is aiming to capture 70 percent of the casual games market and attract a large portion of non-gamers to try and regularly play its games. It plans to launch two casual games, BandMaster and Super Star Online, within the first quarter this year.

Out of the 18 million internet users in the country, 11.129 million are registered gamers of IP E-Game.

“We are looking at casual games as the doorstep for internet users who want to try online gaming,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez said the company’s games – Audition, Cabal Online and Ran Online – were the top three favorite online games based on a survey conducted by the Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication from February to April 2009.

Revenues of IP E-Game have steadily grown in the past four years. From only P92.12 million, the company’s revenue has surged 267 percent to P246.23 million.

In comparison to massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPGs), casual online games are easier to play and are targeted at a mass audience.

Since it started operations in 2006, IP E-Game launched five MMORPGs and four casual games in the Philippine market. It has 28 main distributors with a network spanning approximately 20,000 outlets such as Internet cafes, independent kiosks, mini-carts and computer shops.