Bain-backed Kioxia prices jumbo IPO as Japanese offerings surge

BAIN Capital-backed Kioxia Holdings priced its initial public offering on Monday (Dec 9) that valued the Japanese memory maker at US$5.2 billion, in the latest mammoth deal in Tokyo.

The Tokyo-based company’s IPO price was 1,455 yen, right at the middle of its range. That valued the firm at 784 billion yen (S$7 billion). Large listings are gaining momentum as private equity funds like Carlyle Group and MBK Partners exit their investments. MBK-backed Kuroda Group plans to go public a day before Kioxia’s debut.

The memory company, which is set to debut Dec 18 on the Tokyo bourse, last week set a price range from 1,390 yen to 1,520 yen.

Sales of NAND flash-memory-chip and solid state drive makers could increase on rising demand from AI-server customers, Masahiro Wakasugi, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst, wrote in a note this month. That may prove to be a boon for the company due to its advanced NAND and SSD technologies, he wrote.

Since shelving a plan to IPO in October 2020, a prolonged slump in the price of NAND has depressed Kioxia’s ability to invest and expand its offerings to keep up. The listing would help Kioxia ramp up capacity as it fights to remain relevant in the capital-intensive memory race. The company could achieve sales growth in line with the industry average, according to Wakasugi. BLOOMBERG

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