SoftBank lines up Apple, Nvidia as strategic Arm IPO backers

afr.com:

SoftBank has lined up some of Arm’s biggest customers as strategic investors for the chip company’s initial public offering, including Apple, Nvidia, Intel and Samsung Electronics, according to people familiar with the situation.

The investors also include Advanced Micro Devices, Cadence Design Systems, Alphabet’s Google, Synopsys, among others, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the details haven’t been announced. SoftBank has been in discussions with Arm customers and partners for months, but the plans are just being finalised now. Still, the specifics could change as the company gets closer to the IPO, which is expected to have its investor roadshow underway by next week.

SoftBank preparing for Arm chip unit to go public this month. Bloomberg

The investors will put in amounts ranging from $US25 million ($38.7 million) to $US100 million ($155 million), according to the people.

The show of support from some of the tech industry’s biggest names will help bolster the offering, which is expected to raise $US5 billion to $US7 billion. SoftBank, which acquired Arm in 2016, was previously aiming to value the chip business at $US60 billion to $US70 billion, but the figure could be more in the range of $US50 billion to $US60 billion, Bloomberg has reported.

Representatives from AMD, Arm, Google, Nvidia and Synopsys declined to comment. Apple, Cadence, Intel and Samsung didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

SoftBank is capitalising 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 indexes.

Arm provides chip