SoftBank will file an application with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to take Arm’s shares public.
Tech giant Amazon plans to raise between $8 and $10 billion by actively negotiating with other tech companies to lead the potential initial public offering (IPO) of SoftBank’s Arm. According to the information received, this may happen in September.
SoftBank awaits approval
SoftBank plans to file with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) later this month, followed by approval from the Nasdaq, to take Arm’s shares public. According to Nikkei Asia’s report, Apple, Samsung Electronics, Nvidia and Intel will invest in Arm as soon as the company is listed on the market. Amazon, on the other hand, aims to raise up to $10 billion to become the lead investor in the Arm IPO.
According to Nikkei’s information, SoftBank plans to sell 10% to 15% of Arm’s shares on the open market. In 2021, Nvidia announced that it would buy Arm for $40 billion. Regulatory difficulties, however, took a heavy toll on the deal, leading Nvidia to decide to drop the deal the following year.
After the deal was canceled, there was much speculation that Arm might go public. If all goes well, this would make Arm’s IPO the biggest IPO of the year. In fact, Arm China’s rebel CEO has already said that the failing Nvidia acquisition “could be a better way for Arm”.
Arm’s value will rise a lot
Prior to news of Amazon’s possible investment, Arm’s post-IPO market cap was around $60 billion. With Amazon’s $10 billion contribution, the chipmaker’s value is expected to rise to nearly $70 billion.
ARM CPUs are expected to capture 30% of the PC market by 2026. We only see ARM-based CPUs in Apple Macs, various brands of Chromebooks, and nearly every smartphone in the world. But we don’t see it on gaming computers. Therefore, it is highly interesting that chipmakers such as Intel and Nvidia intend to invest heavily in SoftBank’s chip design unit and have a stake in it.