British chip giant Arm aims to raise US$8 billion in US IPO as SoftBank seeks listing after Nvidia deal collapsed
- Arm is expected to file in late April for its IPO, which is expected to be underwritten by Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Barclays and Mizuho Financial
- A successful listing would provide a boost to the IPO market, which has been largely frozen since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022
Arm, the British chip designer owned by Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp, is likely to aim to raise at least US$8 billion from what is expected to be a blockbuster US stock market launch this year, people familiar with the matter said on Sunday.
Arm is expected to confidentially submit paperwork for its initial public offering in late April, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the discussions are confidential. The listing is expected to happen later this year and the exact timing will be determined by market conditions, the sources added.
The Australian Financial Review reported on the lead banks earlier on Sunday.
The preparations for the IPO are expected to be kick-started in the US in the coming days, the sources said. The valuation range has not yet been finalised, but Cambridge, England-based Arm is hoping to be valued at more than US$50 billion during its share sale, the sources said.
Barclays, JPMorgan and SoftBank did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Arm, Goldman Sachs and Mizuho declined to comment.
A successful listing for Arm this year would provide a boost to the IPO market, which has been largely frozen since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February last year triggered market volatility and a huge sell-off in tech stocks.
The IPO market briefly flickered back to life last month as a number of companies including solar tech firm Nextracker and Chinese sensor maker Hesai Group listed their shares on US stock exchanges, but investors still remain wary of betting on new stocks.
IPO advisers are not expecting a full-blown recovery in capital markets until the latter half of this year.
Arm said last week it would pursue a US-only listing this year, dashing the British government’s hopes that the tech giant would return to the London stock market.
SoftBank has been pursuing a listing for Arm since its deal to sell the chip designer to Nvidia Corp for US$40 billion collapsed last year because of objections from US and European antitrust regulators.