zynga

Attracting top employees can be difficult for cash-strapped startups. So, in many cases, they give out company stock to supplement salaries that employees might feel is below-market.

Zynga followed that strategy. But now the CityVille and FarmVille maker apparently wishes it hadn't, according to a new report.

Citing industry sources, The Wall Street Journal reported today that Zynga CEO Mark Pincus, along with his top executives, decided last year as they were preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) that they had given out too much stock to employees. But rather than accept that reality, the executives reportedly tried … Read more

Social gaming giant Zynga is planning to proceed with its initial public offering after Thanksgiving, Bloomberg is reporting.

The company was expected to raise up to $1 billion by going public as early as September. But the stock market's recent roller-coaster ride reportedly prompted the game maker to back off on its IPO plans.

Zynga, which could see more than $1 billion in sales this year, has been one of the most anticipated public offerings this year, according to the post. The company's SEC filing pegged its valuation at $11 billion in March.

Groupon, the brash and much-criticized daily-deals pioneer, did it.

Shares of the 3-year-old Internet company closed at $26.11 today on the Nasdaq, a jump of more than 31 percent from its offering price of $20. That leaves Groupon with a market valuation of about $16.7 billion, almost three times the buyout offer from Google it rejected in December, and surely enough to reignite the debate of whether Bubble 2.0 is here.

Today's valuation makes Groupon nearly as big as Yahoo, 10 times the size of AOL, and more than 15 times the size of The New … Read more

Zynga, up next among the much-anticipated Internet IPOs, today said that its revenue continues to climb even though growth overall is slowing.

The San Francisco-based maker of Farmville and other social games reported new financial information in an updated filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It said that its sales reached $307 million in the latest quarter, up 80 percent from the year-ago quarter. Net income stood at $12.5 million, a 54 percent drop from last year's quarter.

Founder and CEO Marc Pincus said in the filing that research expenses have climbed, as Zynga has been taking … Read more

Angie's List, a consumer review site where people rate everything from doctors to tree services, disclosed today in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it will seek to raise $114.3 million in an initial public offering.

The company, based in Indianapolis, plans to offer 8.8 million shares for $11 to $13 apiece. It's aiming to go public before Thanksgiving and will list on the Nasdaq under the symbol ANGI.

Angie's List was launched in 1995 by Angie Hicks. Its focus was on home services, but the service has expanded into … Read more

Social learning startup Grockit has raised an additional $7 million in venture funding to expand its online test-preparation services.

Although not related to the funding, Grockit also recently launched a new service called Grockit Answers that can turn any YouTube video into a Q&A session. (Here's a company-supplied example on the credit crisis.)

Grockit's tools draw on social networking and online gaming to personalize learning outside of the classroom--ideally, to help students conquer their academic weaknesses and ace test preparation. The company's tag line is "Test Prep Made Fun." Grockit claims one million … Read more

Zynga has amended its initial public offering for the fourth time on Thursday.

The big change is that the San Francisco-based social game developer has opted to list its Class A common stock with the Nasdaq exchange, using the symbol "ZNGA."

The Wall Street Journal highlighted something else more intriguing buried in that 200+ page document filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Founder and CEO Mark Pincus is holding onto the power of his company with a strong grip. Specifically, Pincus will be entitled to the following:

SAN FRANCISCO--At the Zynga press conference today, CEO Mark Pincus dropped a bombshell that, according to the army of press handlers there, I was the only person to hear. "We are building a platform for play," he said. "We're not trying to be the company that makes the next hit game...but it's ok if we do. We're trying to do something broader than that."

Pincus said he's trying to get Zynga to build something similar to the Facebook platform, "but at a game level."

What I heard: Zynga's … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--Facebook gaming giant Zynga today took the wraps off several new games, some of which work on the new Facebook iPad app that was released yesterday. The company also unveiled its new gaming platform, Zynga Direct.

The first game unveiled, Hidden Chronicles, is a puzzle game--a new category for Zynga--in which you search for objects hidden in graphics, either in competition or partnership with your friends.

Mafia Wars 2 is the sequel to one of Zynga's first and more popular games. With a focus on "Franchise, Friends, Feel, and Fighting," it brings popular features to everyone … Read more