Shares of supermarket operator Trial Holdings jumped 29% in its public debut on the Japanese expansion market on Thursday, valuing the company at 261. 6 billion yen ($1. 73 billion), the country’s largest initial public offering this year.
Trial Holdings managed to raise 38. 85 billion yen in an initial public offering (IPO) in which the company sold 22. 85 million shares at 1,700 yen each, the end of its announced diversity of 1,600 to 1,700 yen. Shares peaked at ¥2,491 on Thursday, before trimming early and final gains to 2,200 yen.
Proceeds from the initial public offering will be used to fund new stores, renovations, logistics and processing centers, to boost new food production and other operations, according to the company’s prospectus. Last March, Trial Holdings had filed for an initial public offering, but still withdrew the plan last April.
Founded in 2015, Fukuoka-based Trial Holdings operates more than 280 supermarkets across Japan that sell new food, clothing, and other familiar items at low prices. Under its subsidiary Retail AI, Trial Holdings is also developing the Internet of Things (IoT). software and devices, adding high-tech grocery shopping carts and cameras that the company says can use artificial intelligence to analyze customers’ grocery shopping behavior in its stores. Trial Holdings’ sales rose 9. 7% year-on-year to 653. 1 billion yen in the fiscal year. The year ended June 2023, while profits rose 13. 2% to 125. 2 billion yen in the same period.
IPO activity in Japan is expected to increase in 2024, driven by corporate governance reforms, higher profits, and developing demand from foreign investors, according to S.
Over the past year, Japan has created new billionaires thanks to its booming stock market. The new members of the three-comma club were Takaya Awata, founder and CEO of Tokyo-listed Toridoll Holdings and is known for its popular udon noodle restaurants. – and Shunsaku Sagami, 32, founder and CEO of the Tokyo-listed brokerage firm. Funds from the Mergers and Acquisitions Research Institute.