Mubasher: Japan-based SoftBank Group on Monday announced it was considering listing its wireless business, SoftBank Corp, on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

The initial public offering (IPO) for the Japanese mobile operator could raise between $18 billion and $20 billion, according reports by Reuters and The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

“We are always studying various capital strategy options,” SoftBank Group said in an official statement.

The response comes after the Nikkei newspaper reported on Sunday, citing unnamed but informed sources as saying that the company was considering selling 30% of its subsidiary SoftBank Corp via the Tokyo Stock Exchange and via overseas bourses such as the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

IPO proceeds will contribute to investments in growth such as buying into foreign information technology companies, the newspaper added.

The IPO could boost SoftBank Group’s position and bolster its “transformation into one of the world’s biggest tech investors,” according to the WSJ.

“It makes sense to spin off the mobile-phone business using a public offering that would leave SoftBank in control and provide SoftBank with more cash to pursue its strategy of investing in companies with potentially high growth prospects,” Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business told Reuters.

The newspaper further added that SoftBank Group was planning to request approval from the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Spring, whereas its listing would be sometime in autumn this year in Tokyo.

“It is a way of obtaining capital without adding debt or diluting SoftBank’s equity interests in the growth companies,” he added in a comment about the news.

SoftBank Corp is Japan’s third largest mobile operator.

“The listing of SoftBank Corp. shares is one such option, but no decision has been made to officially proceed with this course,” the Japanese conglomerate highlighted in its statement.