TOKYO (Reuters) – Nomura Holdings Inc., Japan’s largest brokerage, plans to issue up to $3.3 billion worth of new shares to replenish its capital, three sources familiar with the matter said.

Last month, Nomura posted a record quarterly loss of 342.9 billion yen, hit by costs related to buying parts of Lehman Brothers, soured trades and exposure to Iceland and accused swindler Bernard Madoff.
Nomura, which bought the Asian, European and Middle East operations last year, plans to register to sell up to 300 billion yen ($3.3 billion) worth of common shares, said the sources, its first new share offering in 20 years.
Nomura would like to raise the funds by the end of the current financial year to March 31, though there is a chance it will decrease the amount of shares or cancel the issue altogether if market conditions are too weak, the sources said.
The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the issue has not been made public. Nomura spokesman Shuji Sato declined to comment.
Nomura will use the funds to invest in growth opportunities, the sources said, including the Lehman business, which it aims to use as a platform to expand outside the mature Japanese market and become a truly global investment bank.
Nomura has had to pay large sums to keep Lehman talent and absorb other costs just as the financial crisis rips through all of its major business segments.
Nomura Chief Financial Officer Masafumi Nakada had said last month at the company’s earnings briefing that it may boost its capital again, following the sale in December of 410 billion yen worth of bonds.
Nomura’s stock closed Friday at 572 yen. If 300 billion yen worth of stock were issued at that price, it would boost the company’s number of outstanding shares by about 27 percent.
Nomura’s stock has lost nearly two-thirds of its value over the past one year.