Wildly popular instant messaging app plans to go public in mid to late-July.

The company behind LINE, one of the most popular messaging applications in Asia, plans to go public in Tokyo and New York this July with a goal of raising between $1 billion and $2 billion.

The Tokyo-based company plans to raise half the money from US investors as it intends to focus more on the US after penetrating more deeply into Southeast Asia. LINE hopes the fact that it is already profitable will pique the interest of investor when it embarks on a roadshow toward the end of June.

If LINE is able to hit its capital raising target, it would be the biggest technology IPO in 2016. That would be a silver lining on the decidedly grey cloud that has hung over the technology IPO market this year.

“No technology business has managed to raise over $150 million in 2016,” said Bruce Voight, who leads technology and social media research at Softbank CIBC International.

“There’s a sense among investors that, while technology IPOs can look appealing, there may not be much upside potential left in US equity markets so they may find it challenging to raise their US target,” he added.

LINE actually filed an application for a public listing in Tokyo in July 2014 that valued it at 1 trillion yen or $9.2 billion but the deal didn’t come to fruition and the Korean-controlled Naver Corporation which owns LINE, replaced its CEO.

“LINE is one of the few technology IPOs Softbank CIBC International would be interested in if only for its incredible popularity in Asia. We think the fact they actually already make a profit is a huge boon,” said Voight.

About Softbank CIBC International:
Softbank CIBC International (SCIBCI) LLC was founded in Tokyo, in 2007. Since our inception, we have grown to become one of the leading institutions in providing North America and European investors’ with access to Asia’s high yielding emerging market opportunities. With retail operations located in Toronto, the provisional capital of Ontario, Canada and corporate headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, in the simplest possible terms, it is SCIBCI’s sole aim to generate consistent high returns on investment through our solid commitment to conscientious and assiduous research and analysis.