SoftBank to raise $23b on Japan mobile unit IPO

Telecoms giant and technology investor SoftBank Group aims to raise over $23 billion by listing its Japanese mobile unit next week in one of the biggest tech IPOs in years.

In a statement, the group confirmed Monday it had formally decided to offer 1.76 billion shares, more than a one-third stake, in the SoftBank Corp mobile unit, with shares priced at 1,500 yen ($13) each.

The offering includes 160 million shares added on strong demand.

The IPO will help raise funds for the company as it increasingly transforms into an investment firm, ploughing money into a broad range of companies and projects around the world.

The statement confirms the temporary offer price set in November, despite recent stock market sell-offs on worries over the US-China trade row, the health of the world's biggest economy and Britain's exit deal from the European Union.

After the listing in Tokyo on December 19, SoftBank Group will hold some 63 percent of the mobile unit.