Bain Capital-backed Kioxia Holdings is set to price its initial public offering Monday that could value the memory maker at as much as $5.5 billion, in the latest mammoth deal in Tokyo.
The Tokyo-based company may be valued at as high as ¥819 billion ($5.5 billion) including an overallotment option, with an offering size of ¥126 billion. That would make the deal the third largest this year after Japan’s stocks reached a record as capital efficiency improved and deflation ended.
The world’s No. 3 NAND maker is listing as Japan’s IPO market sees the largest volume since 2018. Corporate Japan is set to raise about ¥930 billion this year through initial share sales, with Tokyo Metro and Rigaku Holdings the biggest listings so far, Bloomberg-compiled data show.
While the number of IPOs, including those in the pipeline, remains the lowest since 2014, large listings are gaining momentum as private equity funds like Carlyle Group and MBK Partners exit their investments. MBK-backed Kuroda Group plans to go public a day before Kioxia’s debut.
The memory company, which is set to debut Dec. 18 on the Tokyo bourse, last week set a price range from ¥1,390 to ¥1,520. Depending on demand, the price may end up as low as ¥1,112 or as high as ¥1,824, Kioxia said.
“Kioxia could keep its position as third largest in the NAND flash-memory industry,” Masahiro Wakasugi, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst, wrote in a note. The company could achieve sales growth in line with the industry average, he said.
Since shelving a plan to IPO in October 2020, a prolonged slump in the price of NAND has depressed Kioxia’s ability to invest and expand its offerings to keep up. The listing would help Kioxia ramp up capacity as it fights to remain relevant in the capital-intensive memory race.
