Bloomberg reports, citing informed sources, that the Tokyo Metro operator has conducted an IPO worth 348.6 billion yen ($2.3 billion), placing shares at the upper end of the announced price range.
The IPO was the largest in Japan since the placement of shares of SoftBank Corp., the telecommunications unit of SoftBank Group, for more than 20 billion yen in 2018.
Tokyo Metro’s shares were sold at 1.2 thousand yen, within the announced offering range of 1.1-1.2 thousand yen. The company placed 290.5 million shares in total, with 80% of the securities sold to Japanese investors and the rest to foreign investors.
Before the IPO, the Japanese government owned 53.42% of Tokyo Metro, and the Tokyo city government owned 46.58%. After the placement of shares, their total share in the company will be halved, Bloomberg notes.
Nomura Holdings Inc., Mizuho Financial Group Inc., and the Japanese unit of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. organized the IPO.
Tokyo Metro operates nine subway lines with more than 6.5 million passengers daily.
