IPS Funds Candle Branch and Wakayama Landing

Tokyo Brief Desk, Tokyo Brief
October 5, 2026

IPS, Inc. announced on October 5, 2026 that its board had approved a public share offering to support a Candle submarine cable branch and cable landing station in Wakayama Prefecture. The company plans to issue 1,263,500 new shares, with estimated net proceeds of up to ¥5.49bn across the offering and a linked allotment. That amount is an upper estimate rather than a final proceeds figure and is earmarked for the Wakayama project through the fiscal year ending March 2030.

Mizuho Securities will underwrite the offering on a firm-commitment basis, retaining the difference between the public offer price and its purchase price rather than receiving an underwriting fee. Pricing is scheduled for October 14 or 15. The reference range is 0.90 to 1.00 times the closing share price on the pricing date. An over-allotment may involve up to 189,500 borrowed shares, backed by a potential third-party allotment to Mizuho. These arrangements represent one mechanism, not two separate blocks of additional issuance.

Compared with a feasibility-stage Wakayama story, the material development is a board-approved equity-raising plan with specified share volumes, an underwriter and a pricing timetable. It does not settle the project’s business structure or IPS’s ultimate financial burden. The roughly ¥23bn estimate covers both the branch line and landing station and includes prospective partners’ investment. IPS is still reviewing possible joint arrangements and other schemes before determining its own share. Any unused proceeds are designated for international communications capacity and networks, including in the Philippines.

The industry significance lies in the proposed connection between a Japanese landing facility and Candle’s regional network. The planned 8,000km route reaches Singapore from Japan through Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. IPS entered the consortium in July 2025; the group of partners named with it comprises Meta Platforms, SoftBank, TM Technology Services and PT XLSmart Telecom Sejahtera. Separately from the Wakayama project estimate, IPS’s capital plan lists ¥19bn for its share of Candle construction, with ¥5.214bn paid by August 31, 2026. Candle’s completion is planned for 2028; neither the offering nor those payments establish operational readiness.

The next confirmed milestone is October pricing, while the linked allotment process extends into November. Mizuho may make covering purchases through November 13, with any allotment application due by November 17 and payment scheduled for November 18. Market purchases can reduce or eliminate the allotment, and no allotment shares will be issued if the over-allotment is not undertaken. Wakayama remains under review, with the broader project running through March 2030. Final proceeds, IPS’s project burden and the business scheme therefore remain unsettled.

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