Softbank Group Corp has lined up some of Arm Ltd’s biggest customers as strategic investors for the chip company’s initial public offering (IPO), including Apple Inc, Nvidia Corp, Intel Corp and Samsung Electronics Co, according to people familiar with the situation.
The investors also include Advanced Micro Devices Inc, Cadence Design Systems Inc, Alphabet Inc’s Google and Synopsys Inc, among others, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the details have not been announced.
The investors would put in amounts ranging from US$25 million to US$100 million, according to insiders.
Photo: Reuters
Financial support from some of the tech industry’s biggest names would help bolster the offering, which is expected to raise US$5 billion to US$7 billion. Softbank, which acquired Arm in 2016, would seek US$47 to US$51 per share in the IPO, the people said.
Softbank has been capitalizing on investor interest in the chip industry, which has benefited from spending on artificial intelligence equipment. The Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index has rallied this year, far outpacing the S&P 500 Index and other major indices.
Arm is considering pricing its shares on Sept. 13, and the stock would start trading the next day. The roadshow to promote the offering is expected to come after today’s US Labor Day holiday.
A successful debut by Arm would be a boon for Softbank chief executive officer Masayoshi Son, whose Vision Fund lost a record US$30 billion last year.
It could also spur dozens of companies to pursue their own IPO plans. Online grocery-delivery firm Instacart Inc, marketing and data automation provider Klaviyo and footwear maker Birkenstock are all working on their own offerings.
At this point, Son would not want to part with 10 percent of the company, Bloomberg said.
Arm, based in Cambridge, England, has assembled a lengthy roster of underwriters for the IPO, reflecting both the company’s global reach and banks’ eagerness to land roles on big-ticket deals in a slow listings market.
The company provides chip designs and licenses technology for more than 1 billion smartphones sold every year.
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