Japan to raise $10 bn through Japan Tobacco stake sale
26 Feb 2013
The Japanese government said yesterday that it would sell a third of its stake in the world's third-largest tobacco company, Japan Tobacco Inc to raise approximately ¥ 967 billion ($10.4 billion) for the reconstruction of areas affected by the devastating earthquake and tsunami two yeas ago.
The finance ministry, which owns about 50 per cent or around 1 billion shares in the former state monopoly valued at around $62 billion, will offload up to 333.33 million shares next month to Japanese and International investors.
About 57.5 per cent of the offering or nearly 192 million shares are earmarked for Japanese investors and the balance for international investors, the company said in a statement.
Based on yesterday's closing price of 2,901 yen a share, the stake is worth about 967 billion yen ($10.3 billion).
The final quantity and the pricing of the shares will be decided by the ministry of finance by 11-13 March.
The transaction would be the largest in Japan since Dai-ichi Life Insurance Co.'s $11 billion initial public offering in February 2010, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
