Arm Holdings, the UK-based chip designer, is set to return to the stock market with a valuation of $54.5 billion (£43.6 billion), marking the largest “initial public offering (IPO)” of the year. Each share was priced at $51, which is at the upper end of the indicated range for potential investors.
Arm’s shares are scheduled to begin trading on the New York Nasdaq stock market, and the IPO raised $4.87 billion for its owner, SoftBank Group of Japan, through the sale of 95.5 million shares. Notably, major Arm customers such as Apple, Google, Nvidia, Alphabet, Advanced Micro Devices, Intel, and Samsung expressed their intent to invest in the IPO.
In March, Arm announced its decision not to list its shares in the UK, a move that dealt a blow to the London stock market. Earlier reports in January suggested discussions between Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and SoftBank regarding a potential UK listing. However, Arm ultimately determined that a sole listing in the US was the most favourable path forward.
Hermann Hauser, a key figure in the development of Arm processors, attributed the US listing to the UK’s departure from the European Union, which impacted the London Stock Exchange’s reputation and capabilities. While the initial hope was for a dual listing, the size of the IPO made it impractical for the London Stock Exchange.
Arm, often regarded as a cornerstone of the British technology industry, estimates that its chips power approximately 70% of the world’s population’s devices, including nearly all smartphones.
SoftBank took Arm private seven years ago in a $32 billion deal. An attempt to sell Arm to US chip giant Nvidia was abandoned in February of the previous year due to significant regulatory challenges across the UK, US, and European Union.
