Nomura, Goldman Among Firms Said to Seek Japan Post Role
(Bloomberg) -- Nomura Holdings Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are among brokerages that submitted applications to lead Japan Post Holdings Co.'s public offering, said people with knowledge of the matter.
JPMorgan Chase & Co., Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co., UBS Group AG, Bank of America Corp., Daiwa Securities Group Inc., Citigroup Inc. Mizuho Securities Co. and SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. also filed proposals to the Ministry of Finance by the Thursday 3 p.m. deadline in Tokyo, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the details are confidential.
The ministry, which has budgeted for an offering of as much as 1.4 trillion yen ($12.3 billion), will compile a shortlist of firms and hold interviews with promising candidates. An official at the ministry and representatives of the brokerages declined to comment.
The government unveiled its plans to sell a further stake in Japan Post Holdings last month, little over a year after completing the 1.4 trillion yen initial public offering of the postal and financial giant. While the size and the timing of the sale have yet to be decided, Chief Executive Officer Masatsugu Nagato said last month that it may take place in the summer. The ministry will choose six underwriters in March, he said.
Falling Profit
Japan sold stakes in the holding company and its bank and insurance units and listed the three stocks in November 2015, in part to raise funds to rebuild areas stricken by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in northern Japan. Nomura, Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan were global coordinators of the three-pronged IPO, which was the nation's biggest privatization deal since 1987.
Profit at Japan Post has been falling as demand for mail services wanes and declining interest rates crimp earnings at the banking unit. Net income dropped 23 percent to 297 billion yen in the nine months ended Dec. 31, results showed this week.
Shares of Japan Post Holdings have risen 5.4 percent since the listing. The stock closed 1.4 percent higher in Tokyo on Friday.
The finance ministry remains the biggest owner of the holding company, which in turn is the largest shareholder in the bank and insurer. Japan is seeking to sell two-thirds of the parent by 2022, Nagato said.
--With assistance from Kyoko Shimodoi
To contact the reporter on this story: Takahiko Hyuga in Tokyo at thyuga@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Marcus Wright at mwright115@bloomberg.net, Russell Ward, Sree Vidya Bhaktavatsalam
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