Dentsu IPO Remains on Track

An economic downturn with no end in sight will apparently not stop Dentsu from pushing forward with plans to go public late this year, the company said.

Dentsu’s IPO on the Tokyo stock exchange, probably in late November, is expected to raise $1.5 billion, making it the largest in Japan this year. Much of that money is expected to be used for capital investments.

But the expected infu sion of cash has also led to speculation about Dentsu expanding its 20 percent stake in the Bcom3 Group.

Even without the IPO money, Dentsu was said to be interested earlier this year in upping its stake, but that interest fell apart over price, sources said.