Jamdat Mobile Inc.’s initial public offering exceeded expectations, raising $88.8 million and selling more shares at a higher price than expected.
The Los Angeles-based mobile game developer sold 5.55 million shares at $16 each Tuesday. It had filed for an offering of 5.31 million shares at $13 to $15 per share.
Jamdat shares were up 40 percent from the IPO price early Wednesday afternoon, trading at $22.64. Trading opened on the stock Wednesday morning at $22.50.
Jamdat earned $1.6 million on sales of $15.5 million in the first half of this year after losing $7 million in 2003. The developer of mobile baseball, football and blackjack games, Jamdat’s most successful offering to date is a bowling game.
The IPO is believed to be the first time a mobile gamer has gone public.
Intel Capital Corp., Sprint EWireless Inc. and Sun Microsystems Inc. were reportedly among certain Jamdat shareholders, selling a combined 1.7 million shares in the offering.
Jamdat sold about 3.8 million shares, raising $60 million before underwriting fees. With nearly 20 million shares outstanding, Jamdat’s market capitalization stands at $312 million.
According to regulatory filings, the company hopes to use proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, but may look to acquire new businesses and technologies. Jamdat will be listed on the Nasdaq under the symbol “JMDT.”
