British chip giant to raise $10 bn
In a major disappointment to the UK, Cambridge-based microchip designing giant files for selling shares in the US, says it wouldn’t list shares on London bourse; Japanese conglomerate Softbank bought Arm in 2016 for 23.4 bn pounds; At that time Arm was listed in London and New York
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London: British microchip designing giant Arm has filed to sell its shares in the US, setting the stage for what could be the biggest stock market listing this year. The Cambridge-based firm is reportedly aiming to raise up to $10 billion, the BBC reported.
In a blow to the UK, the company said in March that it did not plan to list its shares in London.
Arm was bought in 2016 by Japanese conglomerate Softbank in a deal worth 23.4 billion pounds. At the time Arm was listed in London and New York, BBC reported.
The firm designs the tech behind processors -- commonly known as chips -- that power devices from smartphones to game consoles.
Its designs are used by chip manufacturers like the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and household brands like Apple and Samsung to build their own processors, the BBC reported.
Softbank said it had confidentially submitted a draft registration statement for the listing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The announcement did not reveal how much it planned to raise or when the share sale might take place. The firm was seeking to raise between $8bn and $10bn through the listing this year on the technology-heavy Nasdaq platform, the BBC reported.
Sometimes referred to as the crown jewel of the UK’s technology sector, Arm was founded in Cambridge, England, in 1990. Earlier this year, Arm said it did not plan to pursue a London Stock Exchange listing.
Reports in January said that UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had restarted talks with Softbank about a possible London listing.
Arm’s decision raised concerns that the UK market is not doing enough to attract tech company stock offerings, with US exchanges seen to offer higher profiles and valuations.
The registration shows that Softbank is pushing ahead with the multi-billion dollar sale despite difficult conditions in the global financial markets, the BBC reported. The number of stock market listings has fallen sharply since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
At the same time, shares in major technology companies have fallen in the wake of the pandemic.
