Apple, Samsung, Intel, Nvidia to invest in record-breaking IPO of British chip maker Arm: Report

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www.businesstoday.in, Aug. 09, 2023 – 

British chip design unit Arm, a subsidiary of SoftBank Group, is preparing to launch a historic Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq in September. The IPO is expected to raise market capitalization exceeding a staggering $60 billion, making it the largest IPO of the year. A report by Nikkei Asia claims that Apple, Samsung, Intel and Nvidia will jump on board as investors once the company is listed.

The Nasdaq listing process is about to kick into gear, with SoftBank Group officially submitting its application to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission later this month. According to the report, Arm's IPO is tentatively scheduled for a mid-to-late-September, with the company actively gauging investor demand and hoping to further boost its corporate value. This move comes after Arm's valuation skyrocketed since SoftBank's $24 billion acquisition of the company in 2016, doubling its initial price tag.

Presently, SoftBank Group holds a 75% stake in Arm, while the remaining 25% is owned by the SoftBank Vision Fund, a tech-focused investment unit. Notably, the Vision Fund is planning to offload a 10% to 15% chunk of its Arm shares on the open market, the Nikkei Asia report claims.

It further claims that Arm has devised a strategy to engage major chipmakers like Nvidia and Intel and tech giants like Apple and Samsung as medium- to long-term shareholders, with plans to sell them fractional stakes to stabilize the stock price upon listing.

Headquartered in the technology hub of Cambridge, United Kingdom, Arm is a crucial player in the global semiconductor landscape. The company's intricate designs have garnered over 90% of the global market share for chips used in smartphones, especially valued for their energy-efficient designs that optimize battery life.

The 2022 fiscal year saw Arm's sales surge to $2.8 billion, marking a remarkable 70% increase compared to its performance in 2016 prior to the SoftBank acquisition. Over 250 billion chips utilize Arm's designs and are placed in devices shipped globally.

After SoftBank's acquisition in 2016, Arm rapidly became a cornerstone of the conglomerate. A $40 billion buyout bid from Nvidia in 2020 was subsequently abandoned due to regulatory obstacles. This led SoftBank on the path toward taking Arm public, a process that is now unfolding.

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