Tokyo Metro, Rigaku set stage for $3 billion Japan IPOs as listings gather pace

By Sam Nussey and Kane Wu

TOKYO/HONG KONG (Reuters) -Japan's Tokyo Metro and Rigaku on Friday kicked off the processes to launch a combined $3.1 billion in initial public offerings (IPOs) next month, according to term sheets, as the local capital markets emerge as a global hotspot for investors.

Tokyo Metro will aim to raise 320 billion yen ($2.23 billion) - making it the largest IPO in Japan for six years - while Rigaku, the Carlyle Group-backed maker of X-ray testing tools, is targeting an IPO worth up to 126 billion yen, the term sheets showed.

The two deals, if successful in raising the targeted amount, will more than double the value of IPOs launched in Japan so far in 2024, according to LSEG data.

There has been $1.5 billion worth of IPOs year to date in Japan, according to LSEG data, down nearly 55% compared to the same time last year.

Total equity capital markets activity, on the other hand, has reached $28.2 billion so far in 2024, up 18.4% due to a surge in follow-on capital raisings and convertible bond deals, the data showed.

In comparison, in the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan, ECM activity so far this year is down 24% and IPO values off 59%, according to the data, as the pace of global interest rate moves are uncertain and geopolitical risks remain high.

Japan's stock market suffered a historic rout in early August, sparked by a surprise rate hike and fears of a U.S. recession, before regaining ground. The benchmark index is up around 13% so far this year.

Tokyo Metro said on Friday it planned to list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Oct. 23, in the latest listing of a major Japanese railway operator.

Tokyo Metro's indicative price of 1,100 yen per share would raise 319.55 billion yen, giving the company a market value of 639.1 billion yen.

The central government, which owns 53.4% of Tokyo Metro, and the Tokyo government, which holds the remaining 46.6%, plan to sell half of their shares in the public offering, the books for which will close on Oct. 11.

Tokyo Metro's history dates back to 1920 with the establishment of the Tokyo Underground Railway Company. Seven years later, it opened Japan's first subway line, between the Asakusa and Ueno districts of Tokyo.

The central government plans to use its proceeds from the IPO to repay reconstruction bonds issued following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The joint global coordinators for the IPO are Goldman Sachs, Mizuho and Nomura.

Separately, Rigaku, a maker of X-ray testing tools backed by buyout firm Carlyle, plans to list on Oct. 25, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters. The order book for the IPO will open on Oct. 10.

The IPO would raise up to 126.1 billion yen, which includes an overallotment option, with the company expected to have a market value of 284.1 billion yen after the offering, according to the term sheet.

Carlyle's shareholding would fall to 40.7% from 75.5% when overallotment is included.

The joint global coordinators for the Rigaku IPO are Bank of America, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and Nomura.

($1 = 143.8200 yen)

(Reporting by Sam Nussey, Kane Wu and Mariko Katsumura; Writing by Scott Murdoch; Editing by Tom Hogue, Muralikumar Anantharaman and David Evans)