SoftBank’s Arm files for IPO that is set to be 2023’s biggest

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Also Read: SoftBank sells its stake in IPO-bound FirstCry for ₹435 crore A successful debut by Arm would provide a windfall for SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son, whose Vision Fund lost a record $30 billion last year. It could also spur dozens of startups to pursue — or further delay — their own IPO plans. That includes companies like online grocery-delivery firm Instacart Inc.

and marketing and data automation provider Klaviyo. Arm plans to start its roadshow the first week of September and price the IPO the following week, Bloomberg has reported. Arm didn’t disclose proposed terms for the share sale in the document, but it’s expected to seek a valuation of $60 billion to $70 billion.

Also Read: SoftBank's Vision Fund loses record $32 billion in FY23 on weak tech valuations While Arm had been aiming to raise $8 billion to $10 billion in the IPO, that target could be lower since SoftBank has decided to hold onto more of the company after buying Vision Fund’s stake in it. That transaction valued Arm at more than $64 billion, based on the filing. Even so, the offering promises to give the struggling IPO market its biggest lift in almost two years.

The listing is poised to be the largest in the US since electric-vehicle maker Rivian Automotive Inc.’s $13.7 billion offering in October 2021. It could rank near or even just below the tech industry’s largest-ever IPOs: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s $25 billion 2014 offering and 2012’s $16 billion debut by Meta Platforms Inc., then known as Facebook Inc. Arm’s target valuation reflects a belief that it will benefit from the stampede toward artificial intelligence chips and generative AI — an industry shift that has helped give chipmaker Nvidia Corp.