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Candy Crush game maker King prices IPO at $22.50

Company expects to raise about $500 million, for a value of more than $7 billion.

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Candy Crush for iPad King Digital Entertainment

Mobile-game maker King Digital Entertainment, which will begin trading Wednesday, priced its initial public offering at $22.50 per share, according to a filing Tuesday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company expects to raise about $326 million by selling 15.5 million shares, with investors selling another 6.7 million. The pricing, which landed the in the midrange of where King expected to price, values the company at $7.1 billion.

The 12-year-old company turned a $567.6 million profit last year, according to a regulatory filing. Though King has more than 180 games to its name, its recent rise to fame and fortune is largely because of the success of mobile and social game Candy Crush Saga, which claims more than 97 million daily players and more than 1 billion daily game plays. Its second-most-popular game, Pet Rescue Saga, comes in at 15 million daily users and 129 million daily game plays.

The company, which announced its IPO plans last month, will trade on the New York Stock exchange under the ticker symbol "KING."