The third largest manufacturer of flash memory in the world, Kioxia, decided to enter the Tokyo Stock Exchange with its shares by the end of this year, estimating the business capitalization at $4.85 billion. Typically, it will be able to directly raise only about $646 million from the IPO .
Image source: Kioxia
The corresponding application was submitted today, Kioxia shares will be listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on December 18, the placement price included in the application is 1,390 yen per share. The company could earn more than the original $646 million if buyers are found for the additional shares. The company’s IPO will help current shareholders Bain and Toshiba get rid of their Kioxia shares. Let us recall that Toshiba, once involved in the production of solid-state memory, still owns more than 40% of the shares in Kioxia capital.
In 2018, the assets of Toshiba Memory Corporation were purchased by a consortium of investors led by Bain for $12.9 billion, so the terms of the IPO described above can hardly be called beneficial for the existing shareholders of Kioxia, since the assets of this company are estimated at a modest $4.85 billion. The terms of the IPO will simultaneously allow Kioxia to issue new shares totaling $179 million. This is not the company’s first attempt to go public, but the first in 2020 was blocked due to not very favorable market conditions. Apparently, Kioxia shareholders simply realized that it is difficult for them to count on anything better now.