Japan Post gears up for IPO
Japan Post is gearing up for its much-anticipated initial public offering (IPO) in November, through which it hopes to raise 1.39 trillion yen ($11.5bn). The Japan Post group is not only the national postal operator, but also one of the world’s biggest banks.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange has confirmed that Japan Post Holdings and its units Japan Post Bank Co. and Japan Post Insurance Co. are scheduled to be listed on 4 November.
Investment analysts believe that about 80% of the shares from the IPO will be listed on the domestic Japanese market, of which about 90% are expected to be pitched to retail investors.
Final pricing for the bank and insurance units will take place on 19 October, and for the holding company on 26 October.
According to sources, about 10% of outstanding shares in each company will be offered. The $11.5bn breaks down to $5.5bn for the Japan Post Holding offering, $4.8bn for the bank IPO and $1.2bn for the insurance IPO.
According to a report in the UK newspaper, The Guardian, 11 companies have been hired as lead underwriters for the offerings, with Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley, Nomura, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan chosen as global co-ordinators.
