Zynga’s recent sitdowns with investors place a valuation of the Farmville gamemaker at somewhere between $7 billion and $9 billion, around double the $4 billion pricetag slapped on the company last April, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The potential $250 million investment makes Zynga (ZNGA) the latest entry on a growing list of big online companies with rapidly expanding valuations. Groupon, Facebook and Twitter are all commanding multibillion-dollar prices. Zynga distinguishes itself from some other firms in the hot consumer-facing online space by being profitable to the tune of $400 million last year, according to The Journal.
And then there’s this little nugget: “Zynga is in conversations with at least one major bank about raising financing, as well as mutual funds and others, according to people familiar with the matter.” Meanwhile, JPMorgan is scraping together a $500 -$750 million fund to invest in technology companies.
In any case, the frenzy for nonpublic Internet companies with massive audiences continues.
mtaylor [at] observer.com | @mbrookstaylor
