Japan's Cyberdyne raises $89 million in Tokyo IPO
Cyberdyne, a VC-backed Japanese robotics company that makes exoskeleton suits, more than doubled on its Tokyo trading debut following a JPY7.8 billion ($76 million) IPO on the MOTHERS (market of the high-growth and emerging stocks) section of the Tokyo stock exchange.
Shares in Cyberdyne closed at JPY9,600 yesterday, up 159% on the JPY3,700 offering price, representing the second-best first day performance among Japanese IPOs this year. Its early backers include Jafco Ventures, Nissay Capital and the Development Bank of Japan (DBJ).
The Ibaraki-based company was set up by Professor Yoshiyuki Sankai in 2004 after it spun off as a start-up from the University of Tsukuba. The company's flagship product is its HAL (Hybrid Assistive Limb) system, a robotic exoskeleton that gives the wearer amplified strength.
The company has a number of other products in various stages of development: from lower-limb and single-joint support to full-body robotic suits. Its products have both medical applications for the elderly, and people with disabilities, as well as industrial applications - for example, in lifting heavy loads at a factory or in a disaster recovery scenario.
Prior to the float, Jafco owned a 10.04% stake in the business through two separate vehicles, while DBJ and Nissay owned 2.3% and 1.28%, respectively. Other investors included construction firm Daiwa House Group, Century Tokyo Leasing, Fukushima Growth Industry Development Fund, Ibraki Enterprise Incubation Fund and SBI BB Media Fund.
The only debut to better Cyberdyne's this year was that of soil decontamination business EnBio Holdings - another Jafco-backed company - which gained 178% on its first day of trading.
The success of Cyberdyne and EnBio contrasts sharply with another, much larger, tech IPO in Tokyo this month; Japan Display, a manufacturer of screens for tablets and smart phones backed by Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ), saw its stock fall for two days in a row following a JPY318.5 billion ($3.1 billion) IPO on March 19.
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