Otsuka Holdings Co. was listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Wednesday in this year's second-biggest initial public offering, following Dai-ichi Life Insurance Co.'s in April.
Otsuka, Japan's fifth-biggest drugmaker by sales, started trading at ¥2,170, some 3.3 percent higher than the IPO offering price of ¥2,100. The stock reached ¥2,234 by 10:18 a.m. and ended the day at ¥2,140.
The developer of the Abilify antipsychotic medication floated 94.5 million shares, including overallotments.
Chief Executive Officer Tatsuo Higuchi said the proceeds from the IPO will be used to buy drug and health-food businesses to bolster sales after Abilify loses patent protection in the U.S. in 2015.
Group companies produce popular products such as Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co.'s Pocari Sweat sports drink and Otsuka Foods Co.'s ready-made Bon Curry. Otsuka derives two-thirds of its revenue from pharmaceuticals.
Global sales of Abilify rose 31 percent to $4.67 billion last year, according to IMS Health Inc., a market research firm in Norwalk, Conn. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. distributes the medicine in the U.S., the world's largest drug market, and pays Otsuka royalties linked to the sales.
Otsuka Holdings is expected to post a net group profit of ¥79.7 billion in the business year through March 31, up 18.2 percent from a year earlier, on sales of ¥1.138 trillion, up 5 percent.
The Otsuka group was founded in 1921 in Tokushima Prefecture and adopted the current holding company structure in 2008.
Morgan Stanley, UBS AG and Nomura Holdings Inc. managed the Otsuka share sale, which had sought bids from investors in the range of ¥2,000 to ¥2,400.