AppLovin, which provides a platform for marketing and monetizing mobile games, filed on Tuesday with the SEC to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering. However, this is likely a placeholder for a deal we estimate could raise up to $2 billion.
AppLovin helps mobile app developers, in particular mobile game developers, solve key marketing and monetization challenges, with software that reaches over 410 million users per day. With the use of AppLovin's technologies and scaled distribution, developers are able to manage, optimize, and analyze their marketing investments, and improve the monetization of their apps. Solutions are delivered through the AppLovin Platform, which is comprised of AppLovin Core Technologies and AppLovin Software. The company also has a globally diversified portfolio of over 200 free-to-play mobile games across five genres, run by twelve studios, including owned studios and partner studios. Since the beginning of 2018, AppLovin has invested over $1 billion across 15 strategic acquisitions and partnerships with app studios, games, and technologies, with a primary focus on rapid growth.
The Palo Alto, CA-based company was founded in 2012 and booked $1.5 billion in sales for the 12 months ended December 31, 2020. It plans to list on the Nasdaq under the symbol APP. AppLovin filed confidentially on December 7, 2020. Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, KKR, BofA Securities, Citi and Goldman Sachs are the joint bookrunners on the deal. No pricing terms were disclosed.
