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Nomura to Sell Dollar Bonds



By MEGUMI FUJIKAWA AND ATSUKO FUKASE
TOKYO -- Nomura Holdings Inc. said Thursday it plans for the first time to sell dollar-denominated bonds in a public placement outside Japan, as it seeks to rebuild its presence in the key U.S. market.

Nomura, Japan's largest brokerage by revenue, said it has filed a registration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to sell the bonds over the next three years. The sale will "raise operating funds for use inside the U.S.," a spokeswoman said.

Other details, including the timing and size of the offering, haven't been decided, the spokeswoman said, adding that the company would monitor the market. Nomura Securities International will lead manage the deal.

Although Japanese firms do issue bonds outside the home market, it is not common.

Nomura earlier this month pointed to its U.S. operations, which are smaller than its Asian and European operations, as a growth driver. The company began strengthening its U.S. business late last year.

In 2007, Nomura stopped securitizing residential mortgages in the U.S., after booking hefty losses due to the financial crisis. The next year, it bought the European and Asian arms of Lehman Brothers after the one-time giant collapsed, but Barclays PLC snapped up the Wall Street bank's U.S. hub.

Thanks to that acquisition, Nomura's international revenue for the July-September period exceeded domestic sales for the first time ever.The Tokyo broker has reported profits for the last three quarters.

Nomura executives have said the next challenge will be its U.S. business and that the company will meet it by hiring talented people. The company will work more on traditional businesses such as U.S. bond dealing and U.S. stock-trading rather than "niche business," Chief Executive and President, Kenichi Watanabe said at a conference late last year.

In February, it transferred Glenn H. Schiffman, a former Lehman banker who was Nomura's head of investment banking for Asia ex-Japan, to New York, where he was made head of the Investment Banking division for the U.S. Nomura also increased its headcount in the U.S. by about 50% in the nine months ended December, to 1,643 employees.

As part of its efforts to strengthen its U.S. operation, Nomura raised about 432.8 billion yen ($4.79 billion) in October by issuing common shares.

Timing may work in Nomura's favor if it moves quickly on the bond issue. Global investors have been warm on dollar bonds out of Asia, with many capitalizing on the region's recovering growth story.

In an attempt to diversify its fund-raising, Nomura has also issued debt in euros. It sold 250 million euros ($338.4 million) worth of bonds in January. The company said demand was strong.

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