When it starts marketing its initial public offering (IPO) next week, Arm Holdings Ltd, the chip designer owned by SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T), plans to charge investors between $47 and $51 for each of its shares, people familiar with the matter said on Saturday.
The previously unreported price range translates into an offering of $5 billion to $5.4 billion and an Arm valuation of roughly between $50 billion and $54 billion. Since Rivian Automotive (RIVN.O), a manufacturer of electric vehicles, made its New York debut in 2021, Arm would become the most valued business to list there.
If investor demand proves robust, SoftBank may raise this range before the IPO prices, according to the sources, who asked to remain anonymous because the topic is private.
SoftBank did not immediately respond to demands for comment, while Arm declined.
Arm’s current valuation is lower than the $64 billion price at which SoftBank last month acquired the 25% share in the business that it did not already hold from its $100 billion Vision Fund.
This reflects a recent decline in the interest in several of Arm’s products. Arm’s sales decreased to $2.68 billion for the fiscal year that ended on March 31, primarily due to a decline in global smartphone shipments.
According to reports, several of Arm’s significant clients have already committed to investing in the company’s IPO. These include Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930. KS), Cadence Design Systems Inc (CDNS.O), Synopsys Inc (SNPS.O), Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), Apple Inc (AAPL.O), Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O), Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD.O), Intel Corp (INTC.O), and Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD.O).
According to reports, the corporations’ interest is motivated by a desire to deepen their business ties with Arm and prevent competitors from gaining an advantage.
This is because the clients regard Arm’s semiconductor designs as a vital resource. More than 260 technological companies employ them to produce over 30 billion chips annually, which are used in everything from the most miniature sensors to the most potent supercomputers and 99% of smartphones worldwide.
