Zynga poised for IPO to tap social media demand

Zynga, the biggest maker of games on Facebook, may file for an initial public offering by the end of next month to capitalise on investors' demand for shares of social-media startups, a person familiar with the plans said.

Zynga has met representatives of Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group and is close to choosing bankers to help it prepare regulatory filings, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are private.

Internet companies may be lining up for IPOs after LinkedIn, the largest professional-networking site, more than doubled on its debut last week and Yandex, Russia's most popular internet search provider, surged 55 per cent yesterday.

Pent-up demand for companies that have pioneered social media and foreign internet markets is outweighing some investors' speculation that technology shares may be overvalued.

"I think every private company watched the LinkedIn IPO and said, 'What if I could do that tomorrow?'," Bing Gordon, a partner at venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, told Bloomberg Television. "But every day is different."

Gordon, also a Zynga board member, declined to comment specifically on its IPO plans.

Music-streaming service Pandora Media is on file to go public, as is HomeAway, an online vacation-rental site.

- Bloomberg