Carlyle-backed AvanStrate nixes IPO again - report
AvanStrate, the Japanese LCD glass manufacturer owned by The Carlyle Group, appears to have called off its plans for a $266 million initial public offering for the second time in a year.
The move comes just one month after the US buyout firm re-initiated proceedings to list AvanStrate due to improved stock market conditions in Japan. It cancelled its original IPO plan a year ago in response to the economic volatility that followed the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and the ensuing tsunami and nuclear crisis.
"We decided to cancel the IPO after considering conditions for the stock market and the market for liquid crystal displays," a Tokyo-based spokesperson for AvanStrate told Reuters.
Carlyle invested JPY58.1 billion ($713.8 million) in AvanStrate, then known as NH Techno Glass Corporation, in May 2008. The investor acquired a 52.6% stake, mostly from local glass maker Nippon Sheet Glass, while existing shareholder Hoya Corp. retained the equity balance.
It had intended to sell 26.92 million shares, or around 25% of AvanStrate, for around JPY610 apiece on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. A green shoe allocation of up to 2.634 million extra shares may have been exercised depending on demand. AvanStrate also planned to offload 8.2 million shares, bringing the size of the floatation to JPY21.4 billion.
Carlyle is also tipped to be looking to jettison some of its shares in Japanese steel bearing maker Tsubaki Nakashima. Nomura Holdings and Goldman Sachs have reportedly been hired to managed the sales process of the company Carlyle acquired for approximately JPY70 billion, including debt, in March of last year.
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