Memory chipmaker Kioxia calls off October IPO plans in Japan – report

Private equity firm Bain Capital-backed chipmaker Kioxia has called off IPO plans for October in Japan, Reuters reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

Last month, reportedly, Bain was in discussions with investment banks to list the Japanese company, which makes NAND flash memory. Kioxia was expected to raise about $500M, and garner a market capitalization of over 1.5T yen ($10.3B) via the IPO, which was expected in October. It would have marked the largest IPO in Japan this year.

However, the recent sell-off in shares of its listed peers has made the pricing challenging, the report added. Shares of Samsung Electronics (OTCPK:SSNLF), SK Hynix and Micron Technology (MU), have fallen about a third from recent highs.

Kioxia noted that it is preparing to list at the appropriate time, the report noted.

Bain, which led a consortium to acquire Kioxia from Toshiba for $18B in 2018, has thought about listing Kioxia in the past as well.

The Tokyo-based company was also in discussions for a transaction to integrate with Western Digital’s (WDC) memory business, intending to form an entity that could challenge NAND memory market leader Samsung. However, discussions were called off in October 2023. SK Hynix had said that it would not agree to the merger of Kioxia and Western Digital’s flash memory business due to impact on the value of the company’s investment.

Kioxia is the world’s third-largest maker of NAND flash memory and had become independent of Japanese company Toshiba in 2018 and took the new name the following year. A 56% stake in Kioxia is owned by a special-purpose company formed by Bain Capital and South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix. Toshiba has a 41% stake in Kioxia, according to a prior report by Nikkei Asia.