Zynga's IPO at $8.50 to $10 Per Share with 100M Shares of Class A Common Stock

Zynga's long-awaited public offering is finally coming to fruition. While the launch date has yet to be announced, the company has revealed its plans to offer 100,000,000 shares of Class A common stock at a price between $8.50 and $10 per share. This is significantly lower than the reported $14 per share that Fidelity, T. Rowe Price, and Morgan Stanley paid to invest in the company, anticipating a higher IPO. Zynga's public debut has been the talk of the town, first because of the many people who will become disgustingly rich after the company goes public, and second because of the many controversies surrounding the social games company. There have been concerns about Zynga'slong-term survival, especially when the company's profits began to drop:

Source: Zynga S-1 Further, Zynga has been faced with new competition from several companies, including Electronic Arts ERTS, which recently became the number-two player in social gaming. Zynga is famous for publishing and digitally distributing Mafia Wars, Empires & Allies, FarmVille, CitVille, and other games with the Ville moniker. While many in the mainstream media have referred to Zynga as the future of gaming, the company has yet to prove that it can produce games that provide a sustainable revenue stream. The quality of its games has also come into question, prompting some experts to compare FarmVille to gambling. Follow me @LouisBedigian