Gaming firm Razer seeks Oct HK IPO at up to $5 billion valuation: source

By Elzio Barreto

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Razer Inc, a gaming hardware maker backed by Intel Corp and Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, plans to go public toward the end of October in an IPO that will value the company at up to $5 billion, a person familiar with the deal said on Wednesday.

The company is considering a valuation range of between $3 billion to $5 billion, with a final decision on the size of IPO and its overall value depending on market conditions at the time of the deal, added the person, who couldn't be named because details of the transaction aren't public.

Razer filed for the IPO late last month in a deal that Thomson Reuters publication IFR said could raise around $400 million.

Razer declined to comment.

The company was founded in 2005 by Min-Liang Tan and Robert Krakoff and has grown from producing a gaming mouse as its initial product to manufacturing laptops worth almost $4,000.

In 2016 it bought assets from a company previously known as THX Ltd, which was founded by George Lucas, and this year it acquired certain assets and intellectual property from mobile phone manufacturer Nextbit Systems.

The acquisitions are expected to help the company launch new products in coming years, including a mobile gaming device, a separate person familiar with Razer's plans said.

Razer had revenue of $392.1 million in 2016, compared with $319.7 million in 2015, while losses widened to $59.6 million last year from $20.4 million over the same period.

The company has raised funds from a series of investors including Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings and venture capital funds IDG-Accel China Capital and Binary Capital, as well as U.S. venture capital investor Joe Lonsdale, Indonesian tycoons Robert Budi Hartono and Bambang Hartono and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, according to the IPO filing.

Razer hired Credit Suisse and UBS as sponsors of the IPO, with Evercore also acting as financial adviser.

(Reporting by Elzio Barreto; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)