????18個(gè)月前，社交游戲公司Zynga還高踞世界之巔。當(dāng)時(shí)，它正在密切接觸華爾街的精英，積極籌備上市，有望成為多年來(lái)最受期待的IPO之一。風(fēng)投資本家、對(duì)沖基金，甚至一些散戶投資者紛至沓來(lái)，都想從中分一杯羹。他們下的注是，這家公司一旦上市，就能帶來(lái)兩位數(shù)——甚至可能是三位數(shù)的回報(bào)。可惜Zynga上市后，這些賭注全都化為烏有。因?yàn)樗Р哌B連，盈利水平未達(dá)預(yù)期，訴訟不斷，高管大批離職。還有其他問(wèn)題讓公司業(yè)績(jī)無(wú)法實(shí)現(xiàn)增長(zhǎng)，并使股價(jià)縮水高達(dá)70%。

????上周，Zynga大幅下調(diào)了2012年的業(yè)績(jī)預(yù)期。隨后，情況變得更加不可收拾。現(xiàn)在依然心有余悸的投資者們紛紛發(fā)出疑問(wèn)，作為風(fēng)靡世界的社交游戲“開(kāi)心農(nóng)場(chǎng)”（FarmVille）和“城市小鎮(zhèn)”（CityVille）背后的公司，Zynga怎樣才能扭轉(zhuǎn)頹勢(shì)。還有些人干脆開(kāi)始懷疑，是不是只有出售公司才是最有可能迎來(lái)復(fù)蘇的出路。最近Zynga的股價(jià)僅為2.48美元，與其2012年3月的最高點(diǎn)15.91美元和2011年IPO時(shí)的10美元都相去甚遠(yuǎn)。瑞德資本管理公司（Lazard Capital Management）資深分析師阿圖爾?巴戈稱：“讓其他公司來(lái)對(duì)Zynga估個(gè)價(jià)是否有意義呢？答案顯然是肯定的。很多公司都能從Zynga的專業(yè)技術(shù)和可靠平臺(tái)中獲益。”

????業(yè)內(nèi)專家稱，有意拓展社交游戲業(yè)務(wù)的大型傳媒公司和希望拓展在線紙牌游戲的傳統(tǒng)博彩公司都是潛在的買(mǎi)家。比如，迪斯尼公司（Disney）就在2010年以5.632億美元、外加高達(dá)2億美元的收益外購(gòu)（earn-out）收購(gòu)了社交游戲開(kāi)發(fā)公司Playdom。分析人士普遍認(rèn)為，其他傳媒公司可能也打算采取類似行動(dòng)，而Zynga正是個(gè)絕佳的收購(gòu)對(duì)象。

????只要聯(lián)邦政府允許在線紙牌游戲合法化，拉斯維加斯的金沙和永利集團(tuán)（Sands and Wynn）這類博彩巨頭毫不掩飾他們進(jìn)軍在線游戲市場(chǎng)的決心。戰(zhàn)略咨詢公司Frank N. Magid Associates的Magid Advisors部門(mén)總裁邁克?沃豪斯稱：“Zynga的一大資產(chǎn)就是他們的紙牌游戲和大量的紙牌游戲玩家。”他還進(jìn)一步指出，今年年初，專為賭場(chǎng)制造游戲設(shè)備的國(guó)際游戲科技公司（International Game Technology）進(jìn)入了這一領(lǐng)域，出價(jià)約5億美元收購(gòu)了社交游戲公司Double Down Interactive（該公司開(kāi)發(fā)了Facebook的流行博彩游戲DoubleDown）。

????但是，盡管Zynga股價(jià)疲軟，但有意收購(gòu)它的公司必須財(cái)力雄厚才行。Zynga家底殷實(shí)，報(bào)表上有超過(guò)15億美元現(xiàn)金。除了那些深感挫敗的股東，也沒(méi)有迫使它必須在近期出售的債務(wù)或其他壓力。盡管這家上市公司今年頭兩個(gè)財(cái)季的季度營(yíng)收未能達(dá)標(biāo)，還把2012年預(yù)期息稅折舊攤銷前利潤(rùn)（EBITDA）削減了一半，但公司仍在賺錢(qián)。

????沃豪斯表示，盡管季度業(yè)績(jī)疲軟，“他們每個(gè)月還是有凈現(xiàn)金流，所以公司的現(xiàn)金實(shí)際上是在增加而非減少。這并不是一家不賺錢(qián)的公司。”而據(jù)券商Sterne, Agee & Leach公司的總經(jīng)理阿維德?巴迪亞估算，僅凈現(xiàn)金流一項(xiàng)就值約每股1.65美元，而Zynga還擁有房地產(chǎn)。因此分析師相信，現(xiàn)在即使用最保守的收入乘數(shù)，Zynga也不太可能接受低于IPO時(shí)每股10美元的報(bào)價(jià)。沃豪斯稱：“如果有公司打算現(xiàn)在低價(jià)買(mǎi)入（按目前的股價(jià)），那就等于是偷了，而首席執(zhí)行官的職責(zé)可不是幫人偷公司。”

????Zynga was on top of the world 18 months ago, courting Wall Street's crème-de-la-crème as it prepared to enter the public markets in one of the most highly anticipated IPOs in years. Venture capitalists, hedge funds, and even retail investors all scrambled for a piece of a company, which they were betting would deliver double-digit -- possibly even triple-digit -- returns. Those bets went up in smoke after going public as a flurry of missteps, missed earnings numbers, lawsuits, an exodus of senior executives, and other issues choked the company's growth and caused its shares to lose more than 70% of their value.

????Things got even worse last week when it drastically reduced in its 2012 outlook. Now shell-shocked investors are wondering how Zynga (ZNGA), the company behind such popular social games as FarmVille and CityVille, can turn its troubles around, with some wondering if a sale might be the most likely path forward. Zynga's shares recently traded hands at $2.48 a share, a far cry from its all-time high of $15.91 set in March 2012 and IPO price of $10 in December 2011. "Does it make sense for some other company to look at Zynga? Definitely," says Atul Bagga, a senior analyst at Lazard Capital Management. "There are a lot of companies that could benefit with Zynga's expertise and credible platform."

????Industry experts cite large media companies, wanting to branch into social gaming, and traditional gambling companies that want to expand into online poker, as possible suitors. Disney (DIS), for example, acquired social gaming developer Playdom in 2010 for $563.2 million plus an earn-out of up to $200 million. Analysts speculate other media companies may be looking at similar moves, and Zynga could be a good candidate.

????And gaming moguls, such as Las Vegas Sands and Wynn (WYNN), have made no secret of the fact that they're interested in expanding into online gaming if the Federal Government legalizes online poker. "One of the great assets Zynga has is their poker game and their large number of poker players," says Mike Vorhaus, president of Magid Advisors, a unit of strategic consulting firm Frank N. Magid Associates. Vorhaus notes that International Game Technology, which makes gaming equipment for casinos, moved into this segment earlier this year when it acquired rival social gaming company Double Down Interactive (which developed the Facebook's (FB) popular DoubleDown casino game) for about $500 million.

????Still, it would take a company with deep pockets to buy Zynga today, despite the company's weak stock price. Zynga has a solid balance sheet, which includes more than $1.5 billion in cash, and has no debt issues or other pressures that could force it to sell in the near-term, other than frustrated shareholders. Even though Zynga missed quarterly earnings numbers in its first two quarters as a public company and slashed its 2012 EBITDA outlook in half, the company is still making money.

????"They make free cash flow every month, so their cash is actually increasing, not decreasing," despite the weak quarterly results, notes Vorhaus. "They're not an unprofitable company." The free cash alone works out to about $1.65 a share, estimates Arvind Bhatia, a managing director at Sterne, Agee & Leach, and the company owns real estate on top of that. So, even using modest revenue multiples, analysts believe it's unlikely the company would accept an offer of less than the $10-a-share IPO price at this time. "If someone were to come in now [at the current pricing,] they would be trying to steal it, and it's not the CEO's job to help somebody steal the company," argues Vorhaus.