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Eneos Holdings, Japan’s largest oil refiner, is reportedly aiming to raise a minimum of 400 billion yen ($2.61 billion) through the initial public offering (IPO) of its wholly owned subsidiary JX Advanced Metals (JXAM), Reuters reported.
This move could mark the largest IPO in the country since 2018.
According to sources familiar with the matter, Eneos is expecting to secure approval from the Tokyo Stock Exchange for the JXAM listing as early as this week. The company intends to sell half of its stake in JXAM during the IPO, targeting a market valuation of at least 800 billion yen.
The size of the IPO, which is being disclosed for the first time, is significant as it would eclipse the previous year’s offering by Tokyo Metro, based on data from London Stock Exchange Group (LON:LSEG).
Eneos declined to comment on the report, stating it has nothing to add beyond its previous announcements. Similarly, the Japan Exchange Group, operator of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, did not comment on individual companies.
Following the news of the potential IPO, Eneos shares saw an increase of 1%, outperforming the broader Japanese market, which remained mostly unchanged.
If JXAM’s IPO reaches the targeted size, it would surpass the 2018 listing of SoftBank (TYO:9984)’s telecom unit, which was the last major IPO in Japan. Last year, 87 companies in Japan raised almost $6.2 billion through IPOs, the highest amount since 2021.
Eneos applied for the listing of its metals unit in October as part of its strategy to optimize its portfolio and focus on growth sectors. JXAM, a leading producer of sputtering targets used in chip production, has been a significant contributor to Eneos, with its semiconductor materials segment accounting for about a third of its 81 billion yen operating income in the last fiscal year.
Additionally, JXAM has expanded its manufacturing capabilities with a new plant in Arizona, further positioning itself in the semiconductor materials market.
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