Otsuka Holdings May Hire Nomura, UBS for Possible IPO in Japan

Otsuka Holdings Inc., the Japanese maker of the Abilify antipsychotic drug, is weighing an initial public offering and may hire Nomura Holdings Inc. and UBS AG as underwriters, bankers familiar with the situation said.

Otsuka is preparing for a global share sale and listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange that may take place as early as the fiscal year starting April 1, said the people, who declined to be identified because the information is private. The Tokyo-based company may have a market capitalization of about 1 trillion yen ($11 billion), said Kazumi Tanaka, an IPO analyst at T&C Financial Research Inc. in Tokyo.