Line said to pursue US IPO with confidential filing to SEC
Messenger app firm Line has already filed for Japan IPO
Tokyo/New York: Line Corp., operator of Japan’s most popular mobile messaging service, filed confidentially for an initial offering in the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), people with knowledge of the matter said, taking a step closer to a dual-listing in New York and Tokyo.
Morgan Stanley is managing the US share sale, said the people, who asked not to be named because the process is private. Companies with less than $1 billion in revenue can submit their filings privately under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, which is aimed at encouraging smaller companies to go public.
Line, a free messaging service that makes money by asking smartphone users to pay for teddy bear icons and games, has more than 470 million users in 230 countries, according to its website. The company, controlled by South Korea’s Naver Corp., also submitted an application for an IPO to the Tokyo Stock Exchange, people familiar said this week, that could value the company at more than ¥1 trillion ($9.8 billion).
Fumiko Hayashi, a Tokyo-based spokeswoman for Line, declined to comment, as did Mary Claire Delaney, a spokeswoman at Morgan Stanley. Nomura Holdings Inc. is managing the Tokyo listing, people familiar with those plans have said.
The company began its free messenger app in June 2011 after the earthquake in northeastern Japan knocked out telephone services, according to its website. Bloomberg
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