'Angry Birds' maker Rovio Mobile planning IPO in 2013

Rovio Mobile, the Finland-based development firm behind the blockbuster mobile game Angry Birds, is planning an initial public offering on the Hong Kong stock exchange in 2013.

Speaking to Finnish weekly Tekniikka&Talous, Rovio chief marketing officer Peter Vesterbacka said the company is striving to evolve into a multimedia empire on par with The Walt Disney Co., which boasts a valuation of $65.3 billion. "That is the target. There is no reason why we should not be able to build a company of that size," Vesterbacka stated, adding Rovio is on pace to generate 2011 revenues of around $100 million, up from $10 million a year ago.

Angry Birds brings to life the epic battle between a flock of vengeful birds and the green pigs that stole their eggs, boasting hundreds of gameplay levels along with leaderboards, achievements and social media integration. Two years after launching on Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS platform, the title continues to captivate consumers, crossing the 500 million download threshold last month. More than 130 million consumers play Angry Birds each month--30 million access the app each day, translating to 300 million minutes of daily game play.

Rovio landed $42 million in a Series A venture financing round completed in March. In addition to hundreds of millions of Angry Birds downloads, Rovio has sold millions of plush toys and a million t-shirts. The firm is also expanding into print publishing, with a cookbook already in the works, and an animated feature film is in the pipeline. Vesterbacka told Tekniikka&Talous that Rovio plans to spotlight the Angry Birds characters in five or six new games slated to roll out in 2012.

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