Thai on-line game firm Asiasoft delays IPO to Q1

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BANGKOK, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Asiasoft Corp PCL, Thailand's top on-line game firm, has delayed its initial public offering until the first quarter of 2008 because of an unrelated court verdict, a source close to the deal said on Monday.

The stock had been scheduled to make its debut on Dec. 14, but a court had set that date to announce its verdict on whether PTT PTT.BK, Thailand's biggest oil and gas firm, should be delisted, the source said.

"The market should be very volatile" that day, he said with main Thai stock index .SETI having fallen more than 8 percent from a year high of 924.70 points on Nov. 1.

The delay would prompt Asiasoft to review its IPO price range because the company had to resurvey demand from institutional investors through a book building, the source said.

Asiasoft had planned to sell 75 million new shares at between 11 and 13 baht ($0.32-0.38) from Dec. 6-7.

DBS Vickers Securities is financial adviser and lead underwriter for the IPO and the proceeds will be used to fund its expansion, the company has said.

Asiasoft, founded in 2001, has joined South Korean on-line gaming company Gravity Co. Ltd (GRVY.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) to launch a Thai version of the popular game "Ragnarok", which the company says has taken it to the top of Thailand's on-line game market.

It also has operations in other Southeast Asian countries, including Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam. ($1 = 33.85 Baht) (Reporting by Wirat Buranakanokthanasan, writing by Khettiya Jittapong; Editing by Michael Battye)