Branding Engineer, a Japan-based specialised recruitment services provider backed by corporates Crooz, InterWorks, MyNavi, Sega Sammy and Vector, was approved to float on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) yesterday.
The company will be listed on TSE’s Mothers Market on July 7 and expects to issue 260,000 shares, with 40,000 shares reserved for the greenshoe option.
The price range for the initial public offering (IPO) will be set on June 18, before bookbuilding between June 22 and 26 and pricing on June 29. The Bridge estimates the shares will be priced at ¥440 ($4.04) each, valuing Branding Engineer in excess of $20m.
Branding Engineer provides career support schemes for IT engineers. Its businesses include online job sourcing platform Tech Stars, freelancer/project matching tool Midworks, programming school management service Tech Boost and Mayonez, a publisher of IT talent-focused lifestyle magazines.
The company raised an undisclosed amount from IT services firm InterWorks in January 2019, having collected approximately $980,000 in 2016 from conglomerate Jardine Strategic Holdings, marketing firm Vector, consulting firm Value Create, East Ventures and Skyland Ventures, according to The Bridge.
The 2016 round followed $190,000 in seed funding from investors including venture capital firm Anri two years earlier, TechCrunch reported.
Founder and chief executive Yasuyuki Kawabata holds the largest stake in the company, owning 37.6%, followed by chief operating officer Katsuya Takahara’s 37.5% share.
East Ventures holds 4.5%, executive search firm MyNavi 3.4%, Orchestra Investment 1.8%, internet company Crooz and InterWorks 1.7% each, Vector 1.5% and entertainment producer Sega Sammy Holdings 0.8%.
Ace Securities, Akatsuki Securities, Daiwa Securities, HS Securities, Kyokuto Securities and Mito Securities are among the underwriters for the offering, as are Mizuho Securities, Monex, Okasan Securities, Rakuten Securities, SBI Securities and Toyo Securities.
