Arm files anticipated filing to go public on Nasdaq

Arm Holdings, a British chip designer owned by SoftBank Group Corp, has filed its anticipated filing to go public on Nasdaq. The countdown has begun for the biggest U.S. initial public offering in almost two years. Arm is on track to become the most valuable company to complete an initial public offering in the U.S. since November 2021, when electric car maker Rivian listed with an initial market value of $70 billion. SoftBank, led by Masayoshi Son, acquired U.K.-based Arm for $32 billion in 2016. Monday’s filing confirmed that an internal transaction earlier this month between SoftBank Group and Vision Fund, an investment vehicle run by the Japanese conglomerate, valued Arm at $64 billion. It reveals that Arm is reliant on China for almost a quarter of its revenues at a time when the Joe Biden administration is tightening restrictions on U.S. semiconductor companies operating in the U.S. Arm’s business in China is run through a local company that neither it nor SoftBank control. Arm’s designs have a near-monopoly on the chips that go into every smartphone, with a market share of more than 99 percent. “We estimate that approximately 70 percent of the world’s population uses Arm-based products,” the company said in the filing. Arm said in its IPO filing that Barclays Plc, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Mizuho Financial Group Inc. will lead the offering. The consortium for the offering includes 24 other banks and brokerages.