Tier IV, the Tokyo-based autonomous-driving software developer, has fixed the price of its global share offering at ¥1,085 a share. The deal splits into a domestic tranche of 6,365,900 shares and an overseas placement of 11,083,700 shares, for a combined 17,449,600 new shares sold to investors in Japan, the US, Europe and Asia. Buyers in the US are restricted to qualified institutional investors under Rule 144A.
The pricing followed three board meetings in quick succession: a June 9 resolution to test overseas demand, a June 29 vote to launch the offering, and a July 6 meeting that set the final issue price, triggering this correction filing. Underwriters Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc and SMBC Bank International plc, acting as joint bookrunners on the overseas leg, will pay Tier IV ¥990.98 a share, a discount to the ¥1,085 retail price that covers their fee for taking on the stock. Net proceeds from the overseas tranche alone come to ¥10.86bn.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total new shares | 17,449,600 shares (domestic 6,365,900 + overseas 11,083,700) |
| Offering price | ¥1,085 per share |
| Underwriting price | ¥990.98 per share |
| Overseas net proceeds | ¥10.86bn |
| R&D allocation | ¥8.77bn for AI systems and autonomous-driving semiconductors |
| Mass-production allocation | ¥8.27bn for supply chains and manufacturing/procurement capacity |
| Overseas underwriters | Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc; SMBC Bank International plc |
Tier IV says ¥8.77bn of the proceeds will fund research into AI systems and semiconductors built specifically for autonomous driving, released in stages: ¥900mn in the year to September 2026, ¥3.90bn the following year and ¥3.97bn the year after that. A further ¥8.27bn is earmarked for building supply chains and strengthening manufacturing and procurement, aimed at cutting the cost of onboard hardware units, phased at ¥400mn, then ¥4.00bn, then ¥3.87bn over the same three years.
The raise comes against a backdrop of heavy losses. In the year to September 2025, Tier IV posted record sales of ¥6.41bn but an ordinary loss of ¥5.50bn, with annual research and development spending of ¥8.55bn running above the entire top line. The company employs 404 people on an average annual salary of ¥10.98mn, a wage bill well above the norm for a firm still years from profitability. Representative director and chief executive Shimpei Kato signed the amended filing.
The final instalments of both spending programmes fall due in the year to September 2028, the point by which Tier IV will need to show its autonomous-driving bet is starting to pay for itself.