A fire in the cold winter! Goldman Sachs investment in Go Company at the upper limit price range, knocking on the door of Japan's largest IPO in 2026.

As the chill in the Japanese IPO market has not yet dissipated, a unicorn in the field of travel technology is trying to ignite the enthusiasm of investors. On Monday, Japan's most popular taxi-hailing app, Go Inc., officially set its IPO price at the upper limit of the offering range at 2,400 yen per share, corresponding to a market value of 186 billion yen. Go had previously set the price range for the offering at 2,350 to 2,400 yen. The company will start trading officially on June 16. Despite the success of Go in setting the pricing at the upper limit of the range, the background is the continuous slump of the Japanese IPO market. Influenced by various factors such as the technical adjustment of the Japanese stock market, increasing investor risk aversion, and stricter listing standards on the stock exchange, the Japanese IPO market is experiencing one of the coldest periods in recent years. According to market data, excluding Go's IPO, the total fundraising amount in the Japanese market since 2026 has dropped to 54 billion yen, the lowest in four years; only 15 companies have gone public this year, the fewest since 2011. At the same time, investors' funds have surged into AI concept stocks and large-cap technology stocks, and IPOs are no longer the main outlet for retail investors seeking short-term gains. The chief strategist of Daiwa Securities pointed out that market interest in IPOs has significantly weakened, with some new stocks falling below the issue price on their first day of trading, and many companies postponing their listing plans. In this bleak market environment, Go's ability to set pricing at the upper limit is undoubtedly a rare shot in the arm. Go operates the most widely used taxi-hailing app in Japan. Its competitors include Uber Technologies Inc., Didi Chuxing, and the local service provider S.Ride Inc., backed by Sony Group. Go's absolute dominance in the Japanese taxi-hailing market is attributed to its unique business model and Japan's unique regulatory environment. Unlike Uber, which relies on private drivers, Go collaborates deeply with existing taxi companies, empowering traditional capacity with digital dispatch systems to avoid conflicts of interest with the local taxi industry and quickly integrate the largest offline capacity network in Japan. Data shows that Go has an 80% share of usage time in the Japanese taxi-hailing app market, with a cumulative download volume exceeding 35 million. This advantage enables it to firmly lock in high-frequency taxi users in a unique market like Japan with expensive taxi fares and highly developed public transportation. President Nakashima Hiroshi said in an interview, "Japan is the last undeveloped market for digital mobility and it is large and healthy." The strong lineup of shareholders is also a key factor in this IPO. In 2023, Goldman Sachs Group invested 10 billion yen in Go when the valuation was 135 billion yen. Prior to this IPO, BlackRock, the world's largest asset management company, announced the acquisition of approximately 15.2% of Go's shares, with an investment of approximately 28 billion yen. Furthermore, globally renowned institutions such as Wellington Management Company and M&G Investment Management also expressed their intentions to subscribe. In this IPO, Nomura Holdings, Goldman Sachs Group, and Bank of America Corp acted as joint global coordinators. Existing major shareholder DeNA will also conduct a partial secondary sale in this listing, reducing its stake from 25.75% to 4.99%. Japanese well-known corporate shareholders such as NTT DOCOMO, Toyota, KDDI, and Dentsu Group will also sell some of their holdings. By setting the price at the upper limit of the range and attracting the participation of top global institutions, Go has not only won market confidence with oversubscription but also injected a warm stream into the Japanese IPO market. However, as noted in a recent report by EY, the current Japanese IPO market is undergoing a fundamental shift from "whether IPOs can be listed" to "whether they are worth listing." Whether Go can continue to gain recognition in the secondary market after listing will be a key indicator to determine if the Japanese IPO market has truly bottomed out and is recovering.