Japan-based accounting software provider Freee has filed for an initial public offering on the TSE Mothers Market that would provide exits to corporates Line, Mitsubishi UFJ, Nippon Life, Life Card, Salesforce, Sharp, Recruit and SBI, Nikkei reported today.
The company is reportedly looking to push its valuation to $1bn through the offering, though terms have not yet emerged.
The application is expected to be approved by the Tokyo Stock Exchange in the near future, and Freee is thought to be aiming for a flotation as soon as next month.
Founded in 2012, Freee operates a cloud-based accounting and human resources platform that offers functionality such as bookkeeping, invoicing and expense settlement, as well as payroll management and facilitating the recruitment process.
Freee has raised approximately $142m in equity financing altogether. Messaging platform Line, financial services firm Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and consumer credit provider Life Card contributed to a $60m series E round in August 2018.
A range of unnamed institutional investors also participated in the series E round, which followed a $29m series D in 2016 backed by Salesforce Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of cloud computing firm Salesforce, electronics producer Sharp, insurance provider Nippon Life and funds run by financial services firm SBI Holdings.
The series D round additionally featured Future Creation Fund, a VC fund backed by automotive manufacturer Toyota and financial services firm Sumitomo Mitsui Banking, as well as DCM Ventures, Japan Co-Invest and Chibagin Capital, a subsidiary of financial services firm Chiba Bank.
Human resources provider Recruit Holdings, DCM and Japan Co-Invest provided $30m in a series C round in 2015, after Recruit’s corporate venturing subsidiary Recruit Strategic Partners had already taken part in a $12m series B round in 2014.
The series B round was filled out by DCM, Infinity Ventures and Pavilion Capital, a subsidiary of Singaporean government-owned investment firm Temasek.
