TOKYO, Sept 21 Reuters Chipmaking equipment maker Kokusai Electric said on Thursday it plans to list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Oct. 25, setting the stage for what could be Japan39;s largest initial public offering IPO in five years.

Kokusai set a tentative IPO price of 1,890 yen per share.

KKR agreed to buy Hitachi39;s electronic equipment unit in 2017 in a deal valuing the business at 257 billion yen as the conglomerate streamlined operations.

The private equity group then spun off Kokusai, which manufactures machines for depositing thin films on silicon wafers, the following year.

KKR sought to sell Kokusai to Applied Materials in 2019, but the 3.5 billion deal was terminated after failing to obtain regulatory approval in China.

A successful listing would follow the blockbuster New York IPO of SoftBankowned chip designer Arm , which investors hoped would lead to a wave of stock market launches.

IPO activity has remained strong in Japan, where the stock market is at 33year highs and interest rates ultra low.

Reporting by Sam Nussey and Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Christopher Cushing

Source Reuters