Japanese messaging app creators Line Corp is set for a dual initial public offering this week, appearing on both the NY and Tokyo stock exchanges with the hopes of raising over $1.3bn ($1bn) in capital.
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According to Channel NewsAsia this lies at the top end of an amended pricing range, as the company bumped up its original suggestion of 2,700-3,200 yen to 2,900-3,300 yen in a filing with the Japanese finance ministry last week.
Line, which was launched in 2011, has 218 million active users monthly, about two-thirds of whom are in Japan, Taiwan, Thailand and Indonesia.
The company will sell 35 million shares.
The stock offering is the biggest technology IPO of the year so far, and comes amid a general drought of big-ticket technology company listings.
Priced at Yen3,300 a share, Line will begin trading in NY on Thursday and in Tokyo on Friday in what is expected to be the largest technology listing so far this year. Plus, investors are still reeling from U.K.’s surprise vote to leave the European Union, and remain wary in sentiment.
That price values the company at 693 billion yen ($6.9 billion).
Owned by South Korean internet company Naver Corp., Line now has 218 million monthly active users and operates Japan’s most popular mobile messaging app.
Other tech startups also seeking funds publicly include e-commerce services provider Infibeam Incorporation Ltd and antivirus software seller Quick Heal Technologies Ltd.
Shares of Naver Corp. closed 0.53 percent higher on the Seoul stock exchange on Monday.
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The app is a subsidiary of South Korea’s Naver Corp. It has become the country’s dominant over-the-top messaging platform, making the bulk of its revenue from the sale of emojis and digital stickers, as well as games.
