Angry Birds developer Rovio aiming for IPO

By Aemon Malone Updated March 18, 2011

The company that turned a game based around misshapen birds into mobile app gold is planning on making an initial public offering in New York, according to Finnish magazine Talouselämä [translated]. Rovio recently wrapped up a round of funding where it secured $42 million in investments, all but guaranteeing that the company would make an IPO in the near future.

Rovio had the added bonus of being able to choose its own investors, Accel Partners, Atomico and Felicis Ventures, and was able dictate the terms of the deals — a rare occurrence for a startup operation. The fundraising effort valued the company somewhere over $200 million.

“We’re building this [into] a big company,” Rovio board chairman Kaj Hed told Talouselämä. “Our goal is to become number one in the world.”

And when he says “a big company” he apparently means it. “We’re aiming to be as large as Facebook or Google,” Hed stated.

Rovio’s cash cow thus far has been the wildly popular mobile game Angry Birds. The title recently eclipsed 100 million downloads and is part of a tie-in with the upcoming Fox feature film Rio. Rovio generated $7 million in revenue from July to December of 2010 for a profit of $4.2 million.

Can an IPO spark another Angry Birds-like success for Rovio?

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Whether you use the internet for primarily for work, play, or binging the best live TV streaming services, the experience can be made better with blazing fast internet service. With Verizon Fios you’ll get a fiber optic connection and some savings are available that will rival the best home internet deals. Verizon Fios deals are geared heavily toward new customers right now, which is why we’ve rounded up all of the best Verizon Fios new customer deals below. Read onward for those details and if you need some devices to pair with new Verizon Fios service be sure to check out all of the best TV deals, best laptop deals, best tablet deals, and best phone deals going on right now.
2 Gigabit Verizon Fios connection -- $85 per month + free extras
One of the fastest internet speeds you can get, and the fastest speed that Verizon offers, this is the sort of subscription you should grab if all the members of your family are essentially watching 4K content all the time. It's also great for those who want to host their own media server to share with friends or family while not impacting anybody else in the home. You also get a lot of great freebies included here, such as a $400 savings on Samsung home appliances and a free $200 Verizon gift card. On top of that, you're getting a router rental and four-year price guarantee included.

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