Art outsourcer Winking Studios begins trading on the London Stock Exchange

• Winking Studios now has a dual listing with shares on the Singapore Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange

Singapore-based art outsourcing and development firm Winking Studios has begun trading on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange.

The company raised £7.9 million by way of placing before dealings commenced. Considering Winking Studios’ £0.15 per share placing price, market capitalisation on admission was projected at roughly £66 million. At the time of writing, shares are valued at £16.75.

Dual listing

Winking Studios previously went public on the Singapore Stock Exchange. Its shares on the London Stock Exchange come as part of a dual listing.

The funds raised will be used by the firm to expand into Europe and North America, supplementing an existing $30 million in available cash resources. The company plans to also use funds to fuel M&A.

"Dual listing on AIM is a significant milestone in our 20-year history and I believe will serve as a powerful catalyst in our mission to become a global leader in video game art services," said Winking Studios founder and CEO Johnny Jan.

"A London listing opens up a wealth of new opportunities, granting us access to a large pool of technology investors well-informed on the sector while enhancing our ability to expand our footprint and grow our client base across Europe and the Americas.

"I am grateful to our long-term investors for their continued support and welcome those who are joining us through the dual listing."

Winking Studios is also backed by Acer Inc, which already owned almost 63% of the developer prior to its initial public offering in the UK. The tech company also took part in Winking Studios’ UK placing and now owns over 64% of shares.

Among Winking Studios’ credits are its work with Activision, EA and Ubisoft on franchises like Call of Duty, FIFA and Assassin’s Creed. The dev has been given access to Acer Gaming’s global games network.

"Acer’s increased investment in Winking Studios reflects our confidence in its potential to accelerate global growth and build on its achievements to date," said Acer COO and Winking Studios member of the board of directors Jerry Kao.

"An important part of Acer’s strategy is to expand its interests in higher margin services and content markets, and we see Winking Studios as a valuable long-term enabler of this. On behalf of Acer, I would like to congratulate Johnny and his team on their AIM Dual Listing."