Softbank-owned chip designer Arm is looking to raise $8 billion in a US IPO, report says
Thomson Reuters
- Softbank-owned Arm is seeking to raise at least $8 billion when it lists on the US stock market, Reuters reported on Sunday.
- The British chip designer is targeting a $30 billion-$70 billion valuation, per Bloomberg.
- Softbank tried selling Arm to chip designer Nvidia for $40 billion last year.
Softbank-owned chip designer Arm is looking to raise at least $8 billion when it lists on the US stock market later this year, Reuters reported on Sunday.
The British firm is likely to put forward the documents for its initial share sale toward the later part of next month, the publication said, citing people familiar with the matter. While Arm is planning its market debut for later this year, the precise timing will depend on market circumstances, Reuters said, citing the sources.
The reported size of the equity offering would make Arm one of the biggest US stock market launches in about a decade. Arm is targeting a valuation of more than $50 billion with the share sale, according to the report.
Bloomberg reported last week that bankers were pitching valuations from $30 billion to $70 billion for the UK-based firm, adding that the wide range reflects how hard it is to estimate the value of the company given volatile semiconductor equity prices.
While no specific bank has been selected for the "lead left" role, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Barclays, and Mizuho Financial Group, are likely to be the lead underwriters for the deal, according to the Reuters report.
Tokyo-based SoftBank tried selling Arm to chip designer Nvidia for $40 billion last year, but the deal fell through because of "significant regulatory challenges" in the US and Europe.
With its own artificial intelligence technology in place, Arm looks well-placed to benefit from the ChatGBT-fueled AI frenzy. The company's CEO Rene Haas told the the Silicon Valley Business Journal that adopting AI is going to put a premium on power efficiency which is Arm's specialty.
An Arm's spokesperson declined to comment on the Reuters report when contacted by Insider.