Exclusive-Kioxia sets IPO price range of 1,390-1,520 yen per share, sources say

By Miho Uranaka and Sam Nussey

TOKYO (Reuters) -Bain Capital-backed chipmaker Kioxia has set a tentative price range of 1,390 to 1,520 yen ($9.22 to $10.09) per share for its initial public offering, two people familiar with the matter said.

They spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of Kioxia’s regulatory filing expected on Monday.

The price range compares with an indicative price of 1,390 yen set in November and gives the Japanese maker of flash memory chips a market value of around 749 billion yen to 819 billion yen.

Kioxia and Bain declined to comment.

Bain scrapped plans for an IPO of Kioxia in October after investors pushed the buyout firm to almost halve the 1.5 trillion yen valuation it was seeking, Reuters has reported.

The buyout firm postponed a previous IPO plan for Kioxia four years ago.

Bain’s efforts to list the chipmaker are being closely watched as a test case for buyout firms in Japan, where more companies are selling non-core assets or going private.

Going public would offer Kioxia fundraising options in a capital intensive industry but increase scrutiny on the company’s financials.

A Bain-led consortium acquired the chipmaker from scandal-hit conglomerate Toshiba (OTC:TOSYY) for 2 trillion yen in 2018.

Kioxia is due to debut on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Dec. 18.

($1 = 150.6800 yen)