Shares of Kioxia (285A.T), opens new tab soared 14% in their market debut on Wednesday, valuing the Bain-backed chipmaker at more than 890 billion yen ($5.80 billion) and highlighting strong investor demand for the third biggest IPO in Japan this year.
Kioxia, a major manufacturer of memory chips, raised 120 billion yen after pricing its IPO in the middle of the indicative range at 1,455 yen per share.
It opened at 1,440 yen, below the offer price, before hitting an intraday high of 1,689 yen. It closed the first day of trading at 1,601 yen.
“I’m relieved to see we’ve made it to listing,” Kioxia chief executive Nobuo Hayasaka told a press conference.
Kioxia, formerly known as Toshiba Memory, was bought for 2 trillion yen in 2018 by a Bain-led consortium from Toshiba after a long and contentious battle. Toshiba put the business up for sale after plunging into crisis due to cost overruns at its nuclear business.
“Market appears to have reacted well to the valuation discount being offered,” said Jon Withaar, who manages an Asia special situations hedge fund at Pictet Asset Management.
“There doesn’t appear to be any urgent selling. Today’s performance bodes well for future private equity exits in Japan providing valuation is reasonable.”
Kioxia’s debut comes in a strong year for IPOs in Japan that saw big-ticket IPOs from Tokyo Metro (9023.T), opens new tab and Carlyle Group (CG.O), opens new tab backed testing tool maker Rigaku (268A.T), opens new tab.
IPOs in Japan have raised over $6 billion so far in 2024, LSEG data shows, its best year since 2021, although the number of IPOs is at their lowest in a decade.