Japan Eyewear Holdings IPO – Nippon Investment Company selling 3.5million shares at JPY1,360 raising JPY10.3bn ($68.2m) as total deal size (including over allotment)
16 November 2023
STJ advised Japan Eyewear Holdings, a company that plans, designs, manufactures, and sells eyeglasses and operates two brands, "Kaneko Optical" and "Four Nines" nationwide, on its listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Standard Market.
Nippon Investment Company sold 3,508,000 shares, approximately 14% of its outstanding shares.
Market capitalization at IPO was JPY32.6 billion ($216 million*) based on IPO price.
*1USD = JPY151
Rise Consulting Group IPO – CLSA selling 11million shares at JPY850 raising JPY124bn ($84m) as total deal size (including over allotment)
12 September 2023
STJ advised Rise Consulting Group, a customer-focused consulting service firm that provides hands-on solving services, in its listing on the Growth Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
CLSA Capital Partners sold 11,328,100 shares, approximately 47% of the total outstanding shares.
Market capitalization at IPO was JPY20.7 billion ($141 million*) based on IPO price.
*1USD = JPY147
TRYT IPO – BPEA EQT selling 40million shares at JPY1,200 raising JPY48bn ($340m)
24 July 2023
STJ advised TRYT, a group company engaged in placement and temporary staffing services in the medical and welfare fields, in its listing on the Growth Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
BPEA EQT sold 40,000,000 shares, approximately 40% of its outstanding shares.
Market capitalization at IPO was JPY120 billion ($851 million*) based on the IPO price.
*1USD = JPY141
LIFEDRINK COMPANY IPO - CLSA selling 1.56million shares at JPY1,535 raising JPY6.4bn ($56.1m)
21 December 2021
LIFEDRINK COMPANY is predominantly a beverage business (manufacture, purchase, and sale of water beverages, tea beverages, carbonated beverages, and tea-leaf products) and also has a small sauce business.
STJ advised CLSA and the Company on all aspects of the IPO from initial planning to final listing and successful debut on the TSE. STJ continued to advise on how to manage the process for an optimal outcome.
CLSA sold 1,555,100 shares, 12% of the company, raised JPY6.4bn ($56.1m*). The market capitalization of LIFEDRINK COMPANY at the time of listing was approximately JPY19.3bn ($169.0m*).
*1USD = JPY114
Net Protections IPO by Advantage Partners raising JPY67.7bn ($594m) (including Greenshoe)
15 December 2021
STJ Advisors acted as independent advisor to Advantage Partners on the global IPO of Net Protections.
Net Protections delivers BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later) services for both the BtoC and BtoB markets. It is the largest company in the domestic deferred payment market with an approximate 44% market share.
STJ provided advice regarding the smooth execution of all aspects of the IPO which involved 3 Joint Global Co-ordinators (2 domestic banks and one international bank).
The deal was well supported by a group of international institutional investors who had studied the company carefully, placed substantial orders and received large allocations.
This continued STJ’s track record of providing advice on the overwhelming majority of successful IPOs on behalf of Private Equity Sponsors in Japan.
Advantage Partners sold 42,141,000 shares, 44% of the company. The market capitalization at the time of listing was approximately JPY140bn ($1.23bn*).
*1USD = JPY114
AB&Company IPO - CLSA selling 5.4million shares at JPY1,490 raising JPY8.1bn ($71.1m)
19 November 2021
STJ Advisors acted as independent advisor to CLSA Capital Partners on the domestic Rinpo IPO of AB&Company.
AB&Company engages in the management of beauty salon chains under the brand name Agu. It also handles franchised stores operations and provides interior design for beauty salons.
CLSA sold 5,441,800 shares representing 40% of the company, raising JPY8.1bn ($71.1m) and valuing the entire company at JPY22.7bn ($199.1m) at the issue price.
This is STJ’s 9th IPO in Japan since its inception and 1st for CLSA Capital Partners.
STJ advised the Company and CLSA on all aspects of the IPO process – bank selection and terms of appointment, early investor meetings, timing of the offering, offer structure, valuation feedback analysis, price range setting, bookbuilding tactics, sizing, pricing and allocations.
IPO of Yukiguni Maitake on the Tokyo Stock Exchange raising $425.7m for Bain Capital
17 September 2020
STJ has advised Bain Capital Partners on the successful Initial Public Offering of Yukiguni Maitake on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Yukiguni Maitake is Japan’s leading mushroom producer and specialises in agritech to produce mushrooms in a controlled environment.
Bain Capital purchased the company in 2015 and has invested heavily to improve the technology, business, management and corporate governance.
The IPO was completed during the most challenging period of COVID and during volatile market conditions. This IPO represents a landmark transaction because it utilized the changes which have taken 10 years to implement starting with proposals made to the FSA by the London Stock Exchange as far back as 2010. These innovations were first used in international IPOs but now used for the first time in domestic “Rinpo-style” IPOs including full investor education before launch, transparency of investor feedback, pilot fishing, priority lists, incentive fees and others.
BAIN sold its entire comprising 51% of the company raising JPY 44.7bn (USD 425.7m) and valuing the company at JPY 87.7bn (USD 835.6m) at the issue price. The domestic portion and international portion account for 70% and 30% each of the offering. Priced at JPY 2,200, against the price range of JPY 2,000-2,400, the IPO attracted very strong interest from international institutional investors, especially long-only holding investors which account for the majority of the demand. Domestic retail investors also actively participated and the retail tranche was heavily oversubscribed. The company had a smooth debut on the Tokyo Stock Exchange with the share price closing 4% below the IPO price on the first days’ trading.
STJ advised the company and BAIN throughout the entire IPO process for a period of over 17 months on all the key aspects of the offering including equity story preparation, selection of syndicate banks, management of a bespoke and extensive investor education program (including PRS, Pilot Fishing and IPO marketing), structure of the offering, marketing materials preparation, valuation feedback analysis, price range setting, pricing tactics and allocations.
This is STJ’s 8th IPO in Japan since its inception and 4th for Bain Capital. STJ has advised on the overwhelming majority of mid-sized IPOs in Japan on behalf of international Private Equity firms, including Bain, Carlyle, CVC and Permira and remains actively engaged on a variety of additional projects.
STJ is particularly proud of this IPO because it is for a domestic company which uses the domestic IPO process without the need for translation of the prospectus; therefore it has very wide applicability to medium and smaller Japanese companies.
Arteria IPO – CVC selling 40% (35% plus option) selling 20m shares at ¥1250 raising ¥25bn.
12 December 2018
We are pleased to announce that STJ has advised CVC Capital Partners on the successful Initial Public Offering of ARTERIA Networks Corporation on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. ARTERIA is a leading Japanese pure-play B2B telecom/internet company that operates a nationwide optical fiber network and specialises in providing high-speed data transmission, data centre and cloud Wi-Fi services to enterprises as well as optical internet services to condominiums.
The IPO was completed in very challenging market conditions and utilised many of the innovative techniques introduced by STJ into the Japanese market including transparency in terms of investor feedback, pilot fishing, priority lists, incentive fees and others.
CVC sold 40% of the company (assuming full exercise of the overallotment option), raising JPY 25bn ($220m) and valuing the company at JPY 62.5bn ($550m) at the issue price. The domestic tranche and international tranches account for 50% each of the offering. Priced at JPY 1,250, against the price range of JPY 1,150-1,500, the IPO attracted strong interest from international institutional investors, especially long-only investors which account for the majority of the demand. Domestic retail investors also actively participated and the retail tranche was heavily oversubscribed. The company had a smooth debut on the Tokyo Stock Exchange with the share price closing 3% above the IPO price after the first 3 days’ trading.
The success of the ARTERIA IPO was achieved despite a very challenging global IPO market environment where volatility spiked, issuance volume fell c.20% yoy in Q4 2018, and against the $21.3bn Softbank IPO which competed for investor interest in the Japanese telecom sector and which was priced just one week after ARTERIA.
STJ advised the company and CVC throughout the entire IPO process for a period of over 2 years on all the key aspects of the offering including equity story preparation, selection and terms of engagement of all syndicate banks, management of a bespoke and extensive investor education programme (including PRS, pre-sounding and IPO marketing), structure of the offering, marketing materials preparation, valuation feedback analysis, price range setting, pricing tactics and allocations.
This is STJ’s 7th IPO in Japan since its inception. STJ has advised on the overwhelming majority of mid-sized IPOs in Japan on behalf of international Private Equity firms, including Bain, Carlyle and Permira.
Sushiro IPO - Permira selling 19million shares at JPY3,600 raising JPY68.843bn ($610.8m)
31 March 2017
Permira has successfully listed Sushiro, Japan’s largest and best in class chain of kaiten (conveyor delivery) sushi restaurants on the 1st section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
STJ has advised on all stages of the IPO from selection of advisors through their engagement and all aspects of the preparation, right up to pricing and listing. This took place over the last 12 months.
Permira sold 19,123,100 shares representing 70% of the company, raising JPY68.8bn ($610.8m) and valuing the entire company at JPY101.5bn ($877.1m) at the issue price.
Although book building took place as the FOMC met and the US prepared for Donald trump’s defeat in his first Senate Bill, the shares were successfully priced at JPY3600. This is STJ’s 6th IPO in Japan and our first for Permira Japan.
The underwriters and Joint Global Co-ordinators were Nomura, Morgan Stanley and UBS
STJ advised the Company and Permira on all aspects of the IPO process – bank selection and terms of appointment, early investor meetings and pre-hearing), timing of the offering, offer structure, valuation feedback analysis, price range setting, bookbuilding tactics, sizing, pricing and allocations.
Macromill IPO – Bain and Company selling 25.5m ordinary shares at JPY1,950 raising JPY49.735bn ($433.2m)
22 March 2017
STJ advised Bain Capital on the listing of Macromill, Japan’s fastest growing online market research company.
Bain sold 25.5 million shares representing 66% of the company, raising JPY951m for the company and JPY 48,783m for Bain and valuing the entire company at JPY79.9bn ($656.0m) at the issue price.
The Underwriters and Joint Global Co-ordinators were Morgan Stanley Mitsubishi UFG, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Daiwa Securities.
STJ advised the Company and Bain on key aspects of the IPO process, including management and co-ordination of the syndicate’s pre-marketing activities and investor education, offer structure, valuation feedback analysis, price range setting, bookbuilding tactics (including driving price momentum), pricing and allocations
This is STJ’s 3rd deal for Bain in Japan, and STJ has advised on all of Bain’s IPO exits since 2014, when it opened for business.
Tsubaki Nakashima, JPY31 billion Initial Public Offering, Japan
16 December 2015
STJ Advisors acted as independent advisor to the Carlyle Group on the IPO of Tsubaki Nakashima Co Ltd, a leading precision ball manufacturer with world leading spherical surface technology, on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The IPO priced at ¥1,550, valuing the company at ¥60bn, and raised proceeds of ¥31bn / $255m. The institutional tranche of the offering, which accounted for around 50% of the offer size, was well received by a wide range of investors in the US, Europe, Hong Kong and the rest of Asia, and was multiple times covered at the strike price.
STJ was involved in every aspect of the capital market factors of the transaction including selection of the syndicate, valuation, investor targeting, early investor education, pilot fishing, pre-deal roadshow, bookbuilding and pricing. STJ helped to achieve an unprecedented level of transparency for a Japanese IPO, allowing the selling shareholders to gauge international investor sentiment at all stages and paving the way for a successful listing.
Bellsystem24, JPY51 billion Initial Public Offering, Japan
20 November 2015
STJ Advisors acted as the independent advisor to Bain Capital on the domestic IPO of Bellsystem24 Holdings Inc, Japan’s leading provider of marketing and customer service solutions, on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The IPO priced at ¥1,555 per share, giving the Company a market capitalisation of ¥114bn, and raised the proceeds of ¥51bn / $410m, making it the largest domestic Japanese offering of 2015.
TechnoPro Holdings, ¥53.1 billion Initial Public Offering, Japan
15 December 2014
STJ Advisors acted as independent advisor to CVC Capital Partners on the domestic IPO of TechnoPro Holdings, one of the largest staffing companies in Japan with over 11,000 engineers. The domestic offering was multiple times oversubscribed by retail and global long funds and it was priced at the top of the indicative price range of ¥1,950, giving a market capitalisation at the issue price of ¥66.4 billion and making it the largest domestic Japanese offering of 2014.
Skylark Group, ¥66.8 billion Initial Public Offering, Japan
9 October 2014
STJ Advisors and Solebury acted as independent advisor to Bain Capital Partners on the IPO of Skylark, Japan’s largest full service casual dining chain with over 3,000 restaurants across the country. The IPO priced at ¥1,200 giving it a market capitalisation of ¥228bn ($2,100 million). A significant proportion of the shares were sold to international investors via an international offer across all major markets including the US, Europe, Hong Kong and Japan itself. The transaction included many innovative and unique features and was a significant landmark for the Company, Bain, STJ and Solebury.
