Zynga to Sell Its San Francisco Headquarters
February 24 2016 - 1:30PM
Dow Jones News
SAN FRANCISCO—Games developer Zynga Inc. is putting its
once-lustrous symbol of corporate perks on the block.
The San Francisco games developer, which rose to prominence for
social games such as Farmville and Words with Friends, plans to put
its headquarters up for sale.
Zynga purchased the office building at 699 Eighth St. in San
Francisco's Design District for $228 million in 2012 after leasing
part of the space. The land, structure and fixtures were last
assessed at over $238 million, according to city records.
The seven-story headquarters opened in 2011 and included a gym,
a basketball court, a bar, a candy shop, a Winnebago and a
cafeteria serving three gourmet meals a day. Perks included pet
insurance, Blue Bottle coffee drinks served by a barista, fitness
classes and acupuncture. Employees were encouraged to take their
dogs to work and were given unlimited vacation.
But the gaming company's meteoric rise, propelled by a viral
marketing relationship with Facebook in its early days, came
crashing down in the years after its 2011 initial public offering.
Shares of Zynga, whose stock priced at $10 at its IPO, traded on
Tuesday at $2.
The company declined to comment beyond confirming that the
building would be put up for sale this quarter. The company plans
to lease space in the building from its next owner. Layoffs in May
brought the company's employees to about 1,600, less than half its
peak of 3,400 in 2012.
The company plans to launch 10 games this year, according to a
regulatory filing. That includes two titles, Dawn of Titans and CSR
Racing 2, that were originally scheduled for a 2015 launch. The
company saw its monthly active users fall 30% in the fourth
quarter, when it had no big game releases.
Zynga offered a reserved outlook in its fourth-quarter report
this month, when it said it expected an adjusted loss of a penny
per share, or for the company to break even. The company reported a
loss of $46.9 million for that quarter.
By 2011, Zynga had raised more than $845 million in capital in
its four years of operation. Its backers included Andreessen
Horowitz, Foundry Group, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and
Union Square Ventures.
Zynga Chief Executive Don Mattrick resigned in April, and
founder Mark Pincus took back the reins at the top spot.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 24, 2016 13:15 ET (18:15 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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