Reuters scoops on Nomura monster share offering; shares hit 25-year low

Reuters scooped on Feb 6 that Japan’s largest brokerage, Nomura, planned to issue some $3.3 billion of new shares to replenish its capital nearly one hour before the company announced the surprise move. Reuters issued the story just after the Tokyo Stock Exchange had closed for the day but Nomura’s ADRs skidded 10 percent to a record low in U.S. trading. When Tokyo trading resumed on Feb. 9, Nomura sank to a 25 year low. It was the first new share offering in 20 years for Nomura, which aims to use the Lehman business as a platform to expand outside the mature Japanese market and become a truly global investment bank.