Kioxia Holdings plans to go public on the Tokyo Stock Exchange next month, settling for a much smaller valuation than initially targeted as the memory chip industry faces challenging market conditions.
The Japanese chipmaker expects a market capitalization of 750 billion yen ($4.8 billion) at its debut, less than half its original target. The company aims to raise up to 99.1 billion yen ($635 million) through the listing, with proceeds earmarked for expanding production of advanced memory chips for artificial intelligence applications.
The IPO represents a scaled-back version of Kioxia’s previous listing attempts. The company had sought a valuation of up to 2 trillion yen earlier this year before postponing the plan in September. A 2020 listing attempt was also shelved due to U.S.-China trade tensions.
Major shareholders Bain Capital and Toshiba, which hold 56% and 41% stakes respectively, are expected to reduce their holdings through the offering. The company is betting on projected growth in AI-related data center demand to help boost its valuation post-listing, though it faces an uncertain memory chip market in the near term.
Final pricing will be determined after consultation with brokerages following expected TSE approval this week.
