Aeon to raise about 90 billion yen from REIT launch: Nikkei

Japanese retailer Aeon Co Ltd <8267.T> plans to raise about 90 billion yen ($917 million) by listing a commercial-property REIT on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) as early as next month, the Nikkei said on Tuesday.

Aeon would raise around 170 billion yen by bank borrowing and the REIT's listing, which would be the third-biggest debut by a Japanese REIT this year, the business daily said.

More than 15 Aeon properties, including its biggest Aeon LakeTown mall in Saitama Prefecture and shopping centers in Malaysia, would be sold to the REIT and then leased back, the Nikkei said.

Use from the proceeds would be used to open new stores, the daily said.

($1 = 98.1000 Japanese yen)

(Reporting by Avik Das in Bangalore; Editing by Don Sebastian)