Japan Post Bank announces share sale, buyback and trust

Japan Post Bank (TSE:7182) has announced a secondary share sale by majority owner Japan Post Holdings, a share buyback program, and plans for a trust arrangement affecting its ownership structure. The share sale is for 361.8 million shares via domestic and international offerings, plus an over-allotment option of up to 54.3 million shares, managed by a syndicate of underwriters. Concurrently, Japan Post Bank will execute a ¥20 billion share buyback of up to 20 million shares through ToSTNeT-3 and a further ¥40 billion share buyback of up to 40 million shares through market purchases. After these transactions, Japan Post Holdings intends to place a portion of its remaining shares into a trust in order to reduce its direct voting stake in Japan Post Bank to below 50%, complying with requirements under Japanese privatization law and improving flexibility in business operations by reducing certain regulatory constraints. The trust will not sell the deposited shares on the open market.