Tokyo Metro is looking at a possible JPY 700bn (USD 4.7bn) valuation as it moves towards an IPO scheduled currently for the end of October. This is shaping up to be Japan’s biggest IPO in six years.
Tokyo Metro is currently owned by the Japanese government and the Tokyo municipal government. Approval for the IPO from the Tokyo Stock Exchange is anticipated by mid-September. Joint-coordinators for the listing will be Nomura, Mizuho and Goldman Sachs.
Around 50% of Tokyo Metro will be up for grabs in an IPO that would exceed that of Kokusai Electric last year. The final date for the IPO is still being discussed, according to the Tokyo government.
Tokyo Metro is part of the furniture in Japan, having been set up in 1920. It has 195km of line and carries over 6m people every day. It reported a 65%+ jump in net profits to JPY 46bn for FY 2024 thanks to a return to economic activity after the Covid pandemic.
Klarna Bank making progress towards 2025 IPO
Sweden’s Klarna Bank is on course for an IPO next year and is looks increasingly likely that Goldman Sachs will be the lead underwriter. Sources close to the company said that the company is having private discussions with investors about the sale of their shares ahead of the IPO.
The bank was founded in 2005 to offer payment solutions and currently has approximately 150m customers. It processes around 2m transactions every day. Back of an envelope valuations are currently putting the projected IPO deal at somewhere between USD 7bn and USD 10bn.
Klarna was valued at USD 45.6bn in its 2021 funding round. That value dropped significantly once interest rates started to rise. A more recent valuation (2022) put the company at around the USD 6.7bn mark.
Klarna has been selling off non-core assets as the fintech prepares for next year’s IPO. Among the deals done was the sale of its Checkout payments business, for which it received USD 520mn. The company also recently signed a deal with Adobe Commerce which allows merchants to implement its Buy Now, Pay Later services.
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MOH Nippon in RTO with Bowen Fintech
Japanese company Minnadeooyasan-Hanbai joined the official list of the London Stock Exchange, using a reverse takeover of listed cash shell Bowen Fintech plc. The company will now trade in London as MOH Nippon plc.
MOH is a crowdfunding services platform in Japan, which is used by local investors focused on the Japanese real estate market. It has been active for 16 years, and through it more than 40,000 investors have raised approximately JPY 277bn (around GBP 1.45bn).
MOH was founded in 1998 by Kenichi Yanase to manage investment in smaller commercial and residential units in Japan. The company said that it may also co-manage real estate projects. More recently it has begun investing directly in technology-driven commercial projects, including cold-chain logistics facilities.
Following completion of the acquisition, the board said it planned to adopt a strategy to grow and develop the existing operations of MOH, including further activity in cold chain logistics internationally. Note that Kyosei Bank in Japan will retain 80% of the enlarged issued share capital in the company.
