Japan Seeks Bankers to Manage $5.4 Bln Japan Tobacco Sale

Source from:  Reuters 05/21/2012

May 18 (Reuters) - The Japanese government said on Friday it has asked investment banks to submit by May 30 their applications for the sale of shares in Japan Tobacco that could raise as much as 426 billion yen ($5.4 billion). The Ministry of Finance said it should complete the selection by next month, a sign that the long-waited stock offering will likely take place this year. Japan's parliament last year passed the bill which would allow the Ministry of Finance to sell 1.66 million shares in Japan Tobacco, cutting its stake to one-third from half to help raise cash for rebuilding the tsunami-ravaged northeast coast. Japan Tobacco said last month that it would buy back about 250 billion yen of its outstanding shares if the government proceeds with a share sale during the current financial year to next March. That would make the size of the share sale of Japan Tobacco by the ministry around 426 billion yen based on Friday's close, making it one of the largest stock offerings in Japan this year. Japan Tobacco shares closed at 407,500 yen on Friday, down 1.7 percent. ($1 = 79.5400 Japanese yen) Enditem