Razer is said to be looking to fund its own gaming related smartphone. However, it seems to be going through the more traditional route of raising funds by aiming for an initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong. A move that reports say has been on the cards for several years now.
Bloomberg reports that Razer is looking to use the Hong Kong IPO as a beach head into the lucrative Chinese gaming market. China is estimated to have a $25 billion (RM107 billion) market for gaming related products, although it has proven to be difficult to penetrate due to differing consumer behaviour and government regulations.
Getting a slice of the Chinese pie would help Razer begin development on its own smartphone. Although, it might be a little premature to assume that Razer’s mobile communications ambitions rely solely on having a successful IPO. After all, it has already acquired Nextbit in January.
Razer is hoping to receive a valuation of around $5 billion (RM21.42 billion) for its IPO. Which is still a substantial sum for the peripheral maker, and would provide quite a large warchest for it to begin competing in the saturated smartphone market.
[Source: Bloomberg]
