Bain Capital-backed Kioxia Holdings priced its initial public offering Monday that valued the memory maker at $5.2 billion, in the latest mammoth deal in Tokyo.
The Tokyo-based company¡¯s IPO price was ?1,455, right at the middle of its range. That valued the firm at ?784 billion ($5.2 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 to ?1,520.
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.
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