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Japan Post Prices $4 Billion Bank Unit Stake Sale at High End

(Bloomberg) -- Japan Post Holdings Co. sold ¥592 billion ($4 billion) of Japan Post Bank Co. shares in the nation’s biggest stock sale since 2023, marking the latest disposal in a decade-long privatization effort by the former state-run giant.

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The company sold 410 million shares at ¥1,444 each, including an over-allotment option, according to a filing to the finance ministry. That represents a discount of 2% from Monday’s closing price. Japan Post had planned to sell bank unit shares at a discount of 2% to 4%, according to a term sheet of the deal last month.

The sale helps Japan Post Holdings meet its pledge to bring its stake in the banking unit to below 50% by the end of the fiscal year through March. For Japan Post Bank, the disposal also gives it more flexibility to start new operations without having to get prior government approvals.

Japanese share sales climbed to a six-year high of ¥5 trillion in 2024, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, as companies took advantage of higher share prices. But more recently, the nation’s stock market has been caught up in the global trade war, especially technology and chip shares, as investors grappled with uncertainties over tariffs and a slowdown in spending on AI-computing gear.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Daiwa Securities Group Inc. and Nomura Holdings Inc. are among banks that arranged the deal.

--With assistance from Taiga Uranaka.

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