Phoenix Portfolios has snapped up a large chunk of struggling game developer Mighty Kingdom

Phoenix Portfolios has bought a large stake in Michelle Guthrie-chaired game developer Mighty Kingdom, which has flagged buyer interest on a number of fronts.

Mighty Kingdom chair Michelle Guthrie.

Phoenix Portfolios has built a major stake in embattled game developer Mighty Kingdom, but won’t shed any light on why it has done so.

The Melbourne-based investment firm told the ASX on Monday it had picked up about 35 million shares in Mighty Kingdom, moving from a 5.49 per cent holding to 12.21 per cent.

Phoenix director Stuart Cartledge had no comment when contacted by The Australian on Monday.

Mighty Kingdom shares are trading at just 1.1c, down from its 30c per share listing price in 2021, with the Adelaide-based company raising $1m at 1c per share earlier this month, with directors including chair Michelle Guthrie taking part.

The company flagged at the time that it had received “several unsolicited inquiries from corporate and other entities expressing interest in the company’’.

The company’s market capitalisation upon listing was north of $50m, however it is now worth less than $5m, having burned through the initial public offer money it raised, forcing it to raise about $7m a year ago plus the extra $1m more recently.

Mighty Kingdom is also involved in a legal tussle with investor and former chief executive Shane Yeend over money he did not pay into last year’s raise, with the parties disagreeing on whether the conditions for payment had been met.