SharesPost, a broker focusing exclusively on the trading of stock in privately-held firms, has estimated social gaming-giant Zynga at a total value of $5.51 billion. Though Zynga has only been around for four years, the social gaming market, in which Zynga is indisputably the market leader, has been showing exponential growth. The sale of virtual goods is expected to grow to $1.6 billion this year, and Zynga, as the operator of six of the ten most popular Facebook applications, is expected to benefit the most from this growth.
This valuation places Zynga above many gaming industry giants, including industry #2: Electronic Arts. EA is traded publicly, rather than privately, and has a total share values of approximately $5.16 billion. Activision-Blizzard, is currently valued at a total of $13.9 billion.
What a crazy world we live in.