SoftBank unveils US$21bil IPO of Japan mobile business

Giant IPO: SoftBank chairman/CEO Masayoshi Son answers questions during a press briefing in Tokyo. Japanese telecom giant SoftBank announced it would list shares in its Japanese mobile unit, a sale that could raise over US21bil in one of the biggest tech IPOs in years. — AFP

TOKYO: SoftBank Group Corp is seeking to raise 2.4 trillion yen (US$21.1bil) in the initial public offering of its domestic telecom operations scheduled for Dec 19.

The Japanese technology conglomerate plans to sell 1.6 billion shares at 1,500 yen apiece, it said in a statement yesterday, valuing the business at 7.18 trillion yen.