Arm files for IPO, Microsoft alters Activision deal - what's moving markets

investing.com:

Investing.com -- Chip designer Arm announces plans for a much-anticipated initial public offering, although the Softbank-owned group stops short of specifying its valuation. Elsewhere, tech stocks remain resilient in the face of surging bond yields as excitement for Nvidia's latest quarterly earnings report grows, while Microsoft restructures its mega-merger with Activision Blizzard to appease U.K. regulators.

1.  Arm files for Nasdaq IPO

Softbank-owned Arm released a preliminary prospectus for a Nasdaq listing, firing the starting gun on a long-awaited initial public offering that could be one of the biggest U.S. flotations in nearly two years.

Japan's Softbank (TYO:9984) has only recently provided a timeline for the IPO, as the tech investor looks to take advantage of soaring enthusiasm for the development of generative artificial intelligence. Arm could prove to benefit from the AI boom, given that its processor designs are used in chips made by tech behemoths like Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA). The firm receives royalties for every chip sold by its customers.

Cambridge, U.K.-based Arm estimated in the filing that about «70%» of the world's population uses its products, noting that chips containing its technology constituted an almost 49% share of a total addressable market that was worth approximately $202.5 billion at the end of last year.

The company did not specify how many shares will be issued or their valuation in its filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission late Monday. However, it confirmed that SoftBank Group bought the 25% of Arm it did not already own from its Saudi-backed investment vehicle earlier this month at a valuation of roughly $64B.

At this level, Arm would become