JX Advanced Metals IPO Set to Become Japan's Largest in Seven Years
TOKYO (Reuters) - JX Advanced Metals (JXAM), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Japan's Eneos Holdings, has received approval for a $3 billion share offering, marking the potential for the largest IPO in the country in seven years, according to a regulatory filing on Friday.
JXAM has set a preliminary offering price of 862 yen ($5.64) per share ahead of its listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on March 19. The final pricing will be determined on March 10.
Eneos, Japan's largest oil refiner, intends to sell 465.2 million shares of JXAM, with an additional overallotment option of up to 69.8 million shares. This share sale is projected to raise approximately 461 billion yen ($3.01 billion), giving the company an estimated market valuation of 800 billion yen.
Reuters previously reported that Eneos aimed to raise at least 400 billion yen through the IPO, which it plans to allocate towards growth investments and shareholder returns.
If successful, JXAM's IPO will surpass Tokyo Metro's offering in October, as per data from LSEG. It would also become the largest listing in Japan since SoftBank's telecoms division in 2018.
JXAM specializes in the production of sputtering targets, materials utilized in the creation of thin metal films during semiconductor manufacturing. The company's semiconductors materials unit is attributed to approximately one-third of its 81 billion yen operating income in the most recent fiscal year. JXAM has invested in a new Arizona facility for manufacturing sputtering targets.
Daiwa Securities, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, and Mizuho serve as joint global coordinators for the IPO.