JAMDAT files for $86 million IPO

Los Angeles based mobile entertainment publisher JAMDAT Mobile has announced its intention to float on the NASDAQ stock market, with an initial public offering of some $86 million planned for the company.

The news came by means of a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission last Friday, in which JAMDAT disclosed its intentions but did not provide details of how many shares would be offered, or what the initial share price would be.

JAMDAT is the first major flotation in the mobile entertainment space; the company is a major player in the mobile gaming market, and also distributes ring tones and screen images in 38 countries, through 72 different wireless carriers.

Recent financial figures for the firm show why it is so keen to float - it is finally on a profit footing, and figures for the March quarter suggest that this year ought to see a massive increase in revenues as well as a turn into the black for the company's bottom line.

For 2003, JAMDAT recorded a loss of $7.1 million on revenues of $13.5 million; in the three months to March 31st, however, it recorded a profit of $738,000 on revenues of $7 million.

Further details of the IPO, which is being underwritten by Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch, are expected to be released in coming weeks. JAMDAT plans to list under the symbol JMDT.

Here in Europe, there has been a new stir of interest in the prospects of the mobile sector in the past week, after Nintendo Europe managing director David Gosen announced that he was leaving the Japanese giant to take on a new role as COO of mobile publisher Digital Bridges.