Monday, November 12, 2018

SoftBank unveils massive $21 bn IPO of Japan mobile unit

Telecoms giant SoftBank will list shares in its Japanese mobile unit next month in a sale that could raise over $21 billion and be one of the biggest tech IPOs in years.

The IPO will help raise funds for the company as it increasingly transforms into an investment firm, ploughing money into a broad range of companies and projects around the world. The IPO will take place in Tokyo on Dec 19 and will offer 1.6 billion shares in the SoftBank Corp mobile unit at 1,500 yen (US$13) each.

That values the mobile unit at 7.18 trillion yen, and the IPO could be Japan’s biggest-ever, local media said.

The company had announced in February that it was going ahead with the IPO after media speculation about the plan.

It said then that the listing would give the mobile unit “greater managerial autonomy.”

In its announcement Monday, SoftBank said the listing would also help clarify the roles of the parent company (SBG) and its Japanese mobile unit.

“SBG is accelerating investments on a global scale, while SB is a core company to the Group’s telecommunications business,” the statement said.

Channel NewsAsia

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