Tokyo-based Coconala, the startup behind an online platform under the same name where you can buy and sell knowledge, skills and, experience from users who are willing to teach, announced on Wedneday that that IPO application to the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) has been approved. The company will be listed on the TSE Mothers Market on March 19 of 2021 with plans to offer 100,000 shares for public subscription and to sell 1,813,000 shares in over-allotment options for a total of 11,092,900 shares. The underwriting will be co-led by Mizuho Securities and Credit Suisse while Coconala’s ticker code will be 4176.
Based on the estimated issue price of 1,000 yen (about $9.56) and total number of issued shares (21,474,000), the company will be valued at 21.7 billion yen (about $207 million). Its share price range will be released on March 3 with bookbuilding scheduled to start on march 4 and pricing on March 10. According to the consolidated statement as of August 2020, they posted revenue of 1,775.6 million yen ($17 million) with an ordinary loss of 83.8 million yen ($800,000).
Coconala was established under its previous name of Welself in February 2012 by Akiyuki Minami who formerly worked at Sumitomo Mitsui Bank and Japanese private equity fund Advantage Partners. Our readers may recall that he shared his story behind launching the startup at a lecture event for entrepreneurs we previously covered. After graduating from Oxford University’s Saïd Business School, he was involved in launchiing two NPOs in Japan, which led him to the experience that offering his skills and abilities to someone else can lead to self-confidence and growth for himself as well.
More than 1.8 million users have been registered by last year while the number is likely to hit 2 million some time this year. With the increase in the number of registered users, the percentage of paying users has been gradually decreasing to around 5-6% for the past one to two years. Their Average Revenue Per Paying User (ARPPU) is on the rise, indicating that users who recognize the value of Coconala are paying more than before. Aiming to upsell, the company launched derivative services such as Coconala Legal Advice in 2016 and Coconala Meets in 2019.
Led by Jafco (15.34%), the company’s main shareholders include Jafco (15.34%), CEO Akiyuki Minami (13.13%), co-founder and director Sato Shinmyo (11.70%), Nissay Capital (11.39% from multiple funds combined), Fidelity (9.72% from multiple funds combined), Mistletoe Japan (7.72%), ImproVista (4.18%), COO Ayumu Suzuki (3.82%), employee Akie Sawayama (2.70%), Environment and Energy Investment (2.34%), and DBJ Capital (2.34%).
