Arm to fetch at least $54.5 billion valuation in IPO
Arm, the chip designer owned by SoftBank Group Corp, received enough backing from investors to secure at least the top end of the price range in its initial public offering, which would command a $54.5 billion valuation on a fully diluted basis, a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
Reuters had reported on Sunday that this outcome was likely. After reviewing investor commitments on Tuesday, Arm decided it will only accept the top end of its indicated $47-to-$51-per-share range, or a price that is even higher, the source said.
Arm may price its IPO above the indicated price range and will decide on how much it will sell its shares for on Wednesday, that source and a second person with knowledge of the matter said.
The shares are scheduled to start trading in New York on Thursday.
Arm was considering publishing a revised price range that would have been higher, reflecting the strong investor demand. It decided against such a move, adhering to its more conservative approach to marketing the offering, the sources said.
Pricing the approximately $5 billion IPO conservatively raises the chances of the shares trading strongly at their debut on Thursday, the sources added.
The sources requested anonymity because the matter is confidential. Arm and SoftBank did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The valuation that Arm has been seeking thus far represents a climb-down from the $64 billion valuation at which SoftBank last month acquired the 25% stake it did not already own in the company from the $100 billion Vision Fund it manages.
Yet even with this lower valuation, SoftBank would fare better than its $40 billion deal to sell Arm to Nvidia Corp, which it abandoned last year amid opposition from
