The government may begin the process to sell about ¥950 billion ($8.5 billion) shares in Japan Post Holdings Co. as soon as this week, marking the state’s ongoing privatization of the postal and financial-services giant six years after its initial public offering.
Officials are due to hold a meeting with bankers Wednesday to start work on the third round of the share sale the government aims to complete by the end of the year, according to people with knowledge of the situation who asked not to identified because the matter is private.
With the offering, the state plans to cut its stake to one third — the minimum it’s required to hold by law — from about 61% currently, the people said. Japan Post is also considering buying back some of its shares from the government, they said.