Rakuten Group Inc., a Japanese e-commerce and fintech company, stated on Tuesday that it planned to issue new shares to the market and to founder and CEO Hiroshi Mikitani in order to raise up to 332 billion yen ($2.46 billion).
Before Rakuten’s announcement on Tuesday, the company’s shares fell 5.1%, continuing the previous day’s dramatic decline following Reuters’ story on the plan, intended to shore up its finances after years of losses from its mobile division.
In a statement, Rakuten stated that it planned to collect around 290 billion yen through an IPO and allow an additional 41.8 billion yen to Mikitani, his asset management company, CyberAgent Inc., and Tokyu Corp.
The stock experienced its largest one-day decline in three years on Monday due to the possibility of a share dilution. Since the Reuters article, Rakuten’s market capitalization has decreased by around $1.6 billion.
Every time there is a significant sale of fresh shares, it dilutes the market but also pushes investors to decide whether to hold or not. Some people will be furious and sell, according to Quiddity Advisors analyst Travis Lundy, who writes for Smartkarma.
Rakuten stated that it will use the money to pay off debt and to construct base stations.
Just three years after deciding to purchase the shares from Walmart Inc., the company announced last week that it will sell its stake in grocery chain Seiyu to American private equity firm KKR & Co. for 22 billion yen.
That came after its banking division’s IPO last month; the corporation also intends to float its brokerage arm.
