Shares in Candy Crush firm fall

The share price of mobile apps company King Digital fell on its first day of trading in the US yesterday (March 27th).

After the Candy Crush Saga producer was valued at more than $7 billion (£4.23 billion) and 22 million shares were sold priced at $22.50 per share ahead of the flotation, stocks slipped by 15 per cent when they were made available for trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Candy Crush was one of the most popular games of last year, while the company is also behind fellow apps Pet Rescue Saga and Farm Heroes Saga.

"With King Digital, there is a lot of concern about its ability to keep coming up with popular games," said Jay Ritter, a professor and initial public offering expert atthe University of Florida.

He added that it is clear there was "neither exceptionally strong nor exceptionally weak demand" for shares in King due to the fact shares were floated at the middle of the filed price range.

Investors will now be keenly awaiting the release of King's next game, to see if it can match the popularity of Candy Crush Saga, which was the most downloaded free app of 2013.

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