Video games publisher set to announce IPO reportedly worth £280m

Video games publisher Codemasters looks set to announce an initial public offering on the London stock exchange of £280m.

The market flotation, which will take place in a couple of weeks, will crystallise a multimillion-pound fortune for its bosses and see it recruit a former Candy Crush-maker director as its chairman.

Gerhard Florin, a former Electronic Arts executive who also served on the board of Candy Crush-maker King Digital Entertainment, has been drafted in as Codemasters’ new chairman.

Meanwhile, Codemasters has said that it aims to raise £15m from the sale of new shares.

Codemasters is one of the oldest names in Britain’s video games industry and its London Stock Exchange debut will come more than a decade after it aborted an earlier plan.

In a statement, the company said: “New platforms and devices, greater accessibility and a variety of business models are all contributing to reach more gamers, anywhere and at any time,” the company said.

“The prospect of artificial reality and virtual reality), the growing popularity of competitive gaming with eSport, the addition of engaging digital services and the proliferation of new platforms and technologies enabling more social activity and more immersion will lead to continued growth for many years to come.”