Rakuten Group to sell 15% of shares in Rakuten Bank in offshore market (updated)

Rakuten Bank

06/12/2023 07:37

(Adds background and details from statements)
       TOKYO, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Japan's Rakuten Group  4755.T 
said on Wednesday it plans to sell 25.5 million shares in
Rakuten Bank  5838.T  in the offshore market, the latest bid to
shore up its finances.
    The shares are equivalent to just under 15% of its stake in
the bank, according to LSEG data.
    Rakuten said it planned to use the proceeds of the sale for
the early repayment of bonds, as it had committed to reducing
interest-bearing debt.
    The stake would be worth around 69.8 billion yen ($474.70
million) at Wednesday's closing price.
    The e-commerce and financial services group has almost 800
billion yen ($5.44 billion) in bond redemptions due before the
end of 2025, according to company documents, driven by the
cash-burning build out of its mobile network since 2020.
    Rakuten publicly listed Rakuten Bank in April this year,
raising, 72 billion yen and reducing its holding to 63.3%. After
this offering Rakuten Bank will remain a consolidated
subsidiary.
    The share price will be determined after a book building
period between Dec. 6 and 7, Rakuten Bank said in a separate
statement.     
($1 = 147.0400 yen)

 (Reporting by Mariko Katsumura; Editing by Tom Hogue and Miral
Fahmy)
 ((Mariko.Katsumura@thomsonreuters.com;))