TOKYO: Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc will sell shares in the Japan Post Holdings (IPO-JAPP.T) group at its banking unit, sources said, giving it a leg-up over rival mega-banks only prepared for an offering at their brokerage arms.
MUFG expects to underwrite 300 billion yen ($2.5 billion) of the mammoth triple-IPO by Japan Post Holdings and its two financial units, and plans to offer a third of that at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, sources with knowledge of the matter said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorised to discuss the matter publicly.
Offering the shares at the bank could attract more retail investors, in line with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s aim of encouraging more individuals to invest and provide a further boost to Tokyo’s stock market.
MUFG’s investment banking joint venture with Morgan Stanley – one of the 11 underwriters for the initial public offerings – will sell the remaining 200 billion yen, the sources said. Officials at MUFG and Japan Post declined to comment.
The state-owned group and its bank and insurance units are expected to list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Nov. 4 after receiving approval on Thursday, sources have said. The IPOs are expected to raise around 1.5 trillion yen, making it Japan’s biggest privatisation since the 2.4 trillion yen listing of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp in 1987.
MUFG’s rivals such as Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Mizuho Financial Group, also chosen as underwriters, plan to offer the Japan Post shares only at their brokerage arms. The government aims to raise about 4 trillion yen from several rounds of offerings of Japan Post shares in coming years to fund reconstruction from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
