(Bloomberg) -- Tokyo Metro Co.’s initial public offering raised ¥348.6 billion ($2.3 billion) after the company priced its shares at the top of the marketed range, in a show of hot demand for Japan’s biggest listing in six years.
The subway operator priced its shares at ¥1,200 apiece after marketing them in a range of ¥1,100 to ¥1,200 each, confirming an earlier Bloomberg news report. The company expects to list the shares in Tokyo on Oct. 23.
The IPO is Japan’s biggest since SoftBank Corp.’s $21 billion listing in December 2018, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. IPOs in Japan have raised $1.6 billion this year, and Tokyo Metro’s listing, combined with other deals, lifts that figure closer to the $4.4 billion raised in all of 2023.
The company said in a document it sold 232.4 million shares to domestic investors and 58.1 million shares to overseas investors.
“The total number of shares demanded was well in excess of the number of shares to be sold,” it said. “A significant number of the demand reported was at the upper limit of the provisional terms.”
Katsumi Udagawa of Ichiyoshi Securities Co.’s Investment Information Department said he expects “the market will be revitalized” and more large-scale IPOs could emerge after the Tokyo Metro offering.
The deal had drawn significant attention from global investors, with long-only funds having covered the IPO’s entire international order book, Bloomberg News reported last week.
In addition to the attractive dividend, there is a sense of security about the company’s performance, and that “the stock can be bought like a bond,” said Takamasa Ikeda, a senior portfolio manager at GCI Asset Management.
Tokyo Metro, which was established in 2004, operates nine train lines and carries on average about 6.52 million passengers per day. Japan’s government owns 53.42% of the company while the Tokyo Metropolitan government owns the remaining 46.58%. Their combined shareholding will halve following the offering.
Nomura Holdings Inc., Mizuho Financial Group Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are joint global coordinators for the offering.
--With assistance from Katsuyori Suzuki and Nao Sano.
(Updates with pricing and demand details)
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