SoftBank-owned British chip designer Arm Ltd will likely to aim to raise at least $8 billion from its initial public offering (IPO) in the United States this year, people familiar with the matter said on Sunday.
Arm is likely to confidentially submit paperwork for what is expected to be a blockbuster US stock market launch in late April, the sources said.
The listing is expected to happen later this year and the exact timing will be determined by market conditions, the sources added, speaking on condition of anonymity because the discussions are confidential.
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SoftBank has picked Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Barclays and Mizuho Financial Group to lead the flotation. However, no bank has been picked for the much-coveted “lead left” position yet, the sources said.
The Australian Financial Review reported on the lead investment banks earlier on Sunday. Barclays, JPMorgan and SoftBank did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Arm, Goldman Sachs and Mizuho declined to comment.
Planned valuation of over $50 billion
Preparations for Arm’s IPO are expected to be kick-started in the US in the coming days, the sources said.
The chip giant is seeking a valuation of more than $50 billion in the share sale but it has not finalised a valuation range yet, they said.
Arm’s stock market listing is expected to be the most high-profile flotation in recent years. If successful, it would provide a boost to the IPO market, which has been largely frozen since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. War in Ukraine 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 Inc and Chinese sensor maker Hesai Group listed their shares on US stock exchanges. However, investors still remain wary of betting on new stocks.
IPO advisors 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. The announcement dashed the British government’s hopes that the Cambridge, England-based 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 $40 billion collapsed last year because of objections from US and European antitrust regulators.
SoftBank bought Arm in 2016 in a $32-billion deal that received the minimum level of scrutiny by the British government.
- Reuters, with additional editing by Vishakha Saxena
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