Nigo’s Streetwear Brand Human Made Prices Tokyo IPO at Top End

Human Made Inc., a Japanese streetwear firm founded by celebrity designer Nigo who also created the A Bathing Ape (BAPE) fashion line, priced its initial public offering at the top of the marketed range.

The company sold shares at 3,130 yen apiece, according to a regulatory filing on Monday. That implies the IPO, which included sale of shares from existing shareholders like Nigo and Pharrell Williams, raised 17.8 billion yen ($115 million). The firm also issued new shares to raise capital for opening new stores in Japan and for investing in e-commerce.

The deal, that was already oversubscribed more than 10 times on the day after the company began taking orders from investors, values the company at 71.7 billion yen. It lured global investors such as MY.Alpha Management HK Advisors Ltd. and Asset Management One Co.

“Part of the valuation premium of Human Made, compared to its peers, can probably be justified” because the company has achieved stronger revenue growth and higher profitability, said Hong Jie Seow, an analyst at Aequitas Research in a report last week. The company has shown success in both local and overseas Asian markets, he said.

Nigo, whose real name is Tomoaki Nagao, served as the top designer at fashion house Kenzo, which is owned by LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE. The listing comes amid a resurgence of interest in Japanese pop culture fuelled by the popularity of anime and video games, which has lured tourists to Japan, lifting retail sales. The yen’s weakness has also added to surging demand.

By Yasutaka Tamura

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