Softbank sets indicative IPO price at £10.34 per share to value firm at nearly £50bn

Softbank intends to sell shares for ¥1500 (£10.34) a piece in its initial public offering (IPO) next month, in the country’s biggest ever listing.

The company didn’t give a price range, instead plumping for a single preliminary figure for the 2.41 trillion yen (£16.44bn) IPO, Reuters reported, showing the company is confident that demand will be high.

Usually a range is given for an IPO to cater for increased or decreased demand among potential investors, but founder Masayoshi Son has dictated a price he is confident investors will buy at, according to Reuters.

The IPO would value Softbank at just under 7.2 trillion yen (£50bn) and if it succeeds, would come close to the amount raised in 2014 by China’s Alibaba of around £19.57bn.

The shares for the business, which boasts 34m mobile subscribers, will be issued on 19 December, and more than 87 per cent of them have been allotted to Japanese investors.

“From what we are getting from our customers, we have demand greater than the number of shares we are allocated to sell,” said a senior official at one major brokerage, according to Reuters.

Softbank is selling around 1.6bn shares in the company. The IPO aims to give the company money to pay down debt and invest in innovations that Masayoshi Son predicts will drive future tech trends, said Reuters.