JX Advanced IPO seeks US$3 billion in Japan’s biggest since 2018

An initial public offering from a key global supplier of semiconductor materials is seeking to raise about 460 billion yen (HK$23.4 billion) in what would be Japan’s biggest such deal since 2018.

JX Advanced Metals, a unit of oil giant Eneos Holdings, set an indicative price of 862 yen per share, according to a company filing to the Ministry of Finance. It will list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on March 19.

The deal would exceed last year’s blockbuster share debut of subway operator Tokyo Metro , and be the largest since SoftBank’s listing in December 2018.

The share offering points to what may be another stellar year for Japanese IPOs, which outperformed the region in 2024. The mega deal from the metals company is being closely watched by other firms seeking to go public, and as a guide to whether the market’s bullishness will be sustained.