Rakuten Bank Ltd. is set to start trading in Tokyo on Friday following Japan’s largest initial public offering since 2018.
(Bloomberg) — Rakuten Bank Ltd. is set to start trading in Tokyo on Friday following Japan’s largest initial public offering since 2018.
The banking unit of billionaire Hiroshi Mikitani’s Rakuten Group Inc. raised about 83.3 billion yen ($619 million) selling the shares. They were priced at 1,400 yen each, the top of a target range that was lowered earlier in the offering process. The lender is set to start trading at 9 a.m. local time.
Rakuten Bank’s listing revives the IPO market in Tokyo, where no first-time share sale had exceeded 50 billion yen this year. The lender and its holder marketed the shares amid high volatility for banking stocks globally, following the failures of several US banks and turmoil at Credit Suisse AG. Still, it’s the largest debut in Japan since the $20 billion-plus IPO of SoftBank Corp. in December 2018.
Forty-two companies that raised more than 50 billion yen in IPOs in Japan in the 10 years prior to Friday rose by an average 7.3% in their first session, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Online lender SBI Sumishin Net Bank Ltd., which had its IPO in March, could give an indication of the appetite for banking shares ahead of Rakuten’s start. The rival is up 37% since its debut on March 29.
Rakuten Bank had initially set an indicative price band of 1,630 to 1,960 yen for the shares, then lowered the range to 1,300-1,400 yen, suggesting weaker than expected demand.
The listing is part of Rakuten Group’s plan to expand its financial business. Competition from Amazon.com Inc. has capped its core e-commerce revenues, while aggressive promotions for its struggling mobile unit have saddled the company with losses.
Rakuten Group offered up to 84% of the shares available in the IPO, and will retain a stake of about 63% in the banking unit after the listing, according to terms of the deal.
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