Nomura says to raise up to $4.3 bln in bonds

By Junko Fujita

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese broker Nomura Holdings Inc (8604.T) NMR.N. said on Monday it would issue up to 410 billion yen ($4.3 billion) worth of bonds in its first fund-raising since acquiring parts of failed investment bank Lehman Brothers (LEHMQ.PK).

Nomura, Japan's largest brokerage, said in a statement it would sell 110 billion yen worth of subordinated bonds convertible into its own shares to Dai-Ichi Mutual Life Insurance and Shinkin Central Bank, a central bank for credit cooperatives.

It has also applied to sell up 300 billion yen of non-convertible subordinated bonds, a filing showed.

Nomura, which agreed in September to buy Lehman Brothers' businesses in Asia, Europe and the Middle East for $2 billion, said it would use the bond proceeds to strengthen its operations in Europe, Asia and Japan.

Nomura has joined Japan's major banks in boosting capital. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc (8306.T), Japan's largest bank, aims to raise about $10 billion by selling common and preferred shares.

Norinchukin Bank [NORB.UL], a bank for Japan's farmers with some $600 billion assets, also aims to raise more than $10 billion after its assets slipped.

Nomura's finances have also been damaged by turmoil in financial markets. In October it posted a net loss of 149.5 billion yen for the April-September first half, and warned of potential losses ahead on its exposure to crisis-hit Iceland and stake in Fortress Investment Group (FIG.N). [nT96684]

Prior to the announcement, shares of Nomura fell 1.5 percent to 678 yen.

If all of the 110 billion yen worth of convertible bonds were converted at Monday's closing price, the number of shares outstanding would increase by about 8 percent.

(Additional reporting by Nathan Layne; Editing by Michael Watson)