The global share offering will be larger than last year’s mega IPO of subway operator Tokyo Metro Co., and will test investors’ interest in Japanese share sales after about ¥960 billion of deals last year.
The metal refiner generates and supplies key semiconductor materials to clients including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Intel Corp.JX is a unit of the nation’s biggest oil refiner, Eneos Holdings Inc., which is selling part of its stake. Eneos has said it would use the funds raised to improve shareholder returns and invest in decarbonization as it aims for more than 10% of return-on-equity under a mid-term management plan through March 2026.
The IPO will also reflect demand for semiconductors, given that JX has more than 60% of the global market share for so-called sputtering target materials, which are used in the circuitry of semiconductors, according to a filing. It competes with other manufacturers globally such as US-based Honeywell International Inc. and China’s Konfoong Materials International Co.
JX generated ¥26.4 billion of operating profit from the chip materials segment in its fiscal year ended in March last year, equivalent of about third of the total ¥86.1 billion. It forecasts a 11% increase in operating profit to ¥95.7 billion in this fiscal year.
