Tokyo Metro Co. has successfully raised 348.6 billion yen ($2.3 billion) in Japan’s largest initial public offering (IPO) in six years, according to a regulatory filing released on Tuesday.
The IPO was priced at the top end of its range, at 1,200 yen per share, surpassing initial expectations of between 1,100 to 1,200 yen per share. The company is scheduled to list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on October 23.
The IPO attracted significant investor interest, with two sources familiar with the matter revealing that it was more than 15 times oversubscribed.
The high demand was driven by Tokyo Metro’s status as a well-known household name and its promising dividend yield.
“The portion available to retail investors, which accounts for nearly 80% of the total offering, was around 10 times oversubscribed,” said the sources.
Institutional demand was even more robust, with shares allocated to domestic institutional investors being over 20 times oversubscribed and foreign institutions’ allocation exceeding 30 times.
Tokyo Metro’s shares are expected to offer a dividend yield of 3.3%, based on its forecasted dividend of 40 yen per share for the fiscal year ending in March 2025.
An analyst at DZH Financial Research, Kazumi Tanaka, remarked that this yield was particularly attractive when compared to other private and JR railways.
“That stands out compared to other private and JR railways,” Tanaka said. “In addition to the stability of the railway business, we can expect growth from increased inbound traffic.”
For context, the dividend yield of Kyushu Railway (JR Kyushu) (9142.T), which went public in 2016, is 2.2%.
Tokyo Metro operates nine subway lines in the Japanese capital and carried an average of 6.5 million passengers daily during the last fiscal year.
Besides its core railway operations, the company also has significant interests in real estate and retail. Its operating income surged by 175%, reaching 76 billion yen in the fiscal year that ended in March 2023.
The central government, which owns 53.4% of Tokyo Metro, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, which holds the remaining 46.6%, are selling half of their combined shares in the IPO.
Tokyo Metro’s public offering is the largest in Japan since SoftBank Group’s (9984.T) telecom unit IPO in late 2018.
In other IPO news, Rigaku, a Carlyle Group-backed maker of X-ray testing tools, is also planning an IPO in October, with pricing expected to be revealed this Thursday.
However, Bain Capital has recently scrapped its plan for an IPO of chipmaker Kioxia due to disagreements over valuation.
Tokyo Metro is expected to attract substantial attention when it officially joins the Tokyo Stock Exchange later this month.
Boluwatife Enome
Source:Reuters
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