Japanese bank Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. (MFG) Wednesday said that its board of directors resolved to issue new shares and conduct a secondary offering of its shares, and to withdraw the shelf registration statement in Japan for future equity issuances.
The bank intends to offer 2.8 billion shares of its common stock by way of a public offering, aiming to raise about 600 billion yen in new capital. The offering includes 2.61 billion new shares to be underwritten and purchased by the Japanese Initial Purchaser and the International Initial Purchaser, and a maximum of 195.6 million shares to be granted to the International Initial Purchaser for the purchase of the shares to be additionally issued.
The bank said that the amount to be paid will be determined on a day during the period from Wednesday, July 15, 2009 to Friday, July 17, 2009. The subscription period would be from the business day immediately following the determination date to the second business day immediately following the determination date. The payment date would be a day during the period from Thursday, July 23, 2009 to Monday, July 27, 2009. However, that such day shall be the fifth business day immediately following the determination date, the bank noted.
The offering to be made in Japan will be conducted through a public offering. A Japanese Initial Purchaser will underwrite and purchase all of the new shares with respect to the Japanese Public Offering and several Japanese underwriters will handle the Japanese Public Offering of the shares. Meanwhile, the offering to be made in overseas will be conducted through an offering in overseas market.
In the secondary offering, the bank will offer a maximum of 195.6 million shares of its common stock. The number of shares to be sold would be determined on the determination date, taking into account market demand and other conditions of the Japanese Public Offering.
The bank said that it intends to use the net proceeds from the offering, together with the approximate net proceeds from the issuance of the new shares by way of third-party allotment, to make investments in its consolidated subsidiaries.
In light of the current uncertainty over the economy, Mizuho Financial believes that the issuance of new shares will allow it to hold a solid and sufficient capital buffer in preparation for a further adverse business environment, and to enhance flexibility to re-capture business opportunities.
The bank also said that it has decided to cancel any equity offering by way of the Shelf Registration and to file securities registration statements for the offerings of shares of common stock.
MFG closed Tuesday's trading at $4.61, down $0.19, on a volume of 281,900 shares.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com