SoftBank Group Corp.-backed British chip designer Arm said Monday it has filed to list its shares on the Nasdaq stock exchange in the United States, with its market capitalization estimated to reach $60 billion to $70 billion in what could be the largest initial public offering this year.
The chip giant, whose technology powers most smartphones worldwide, is expected to go public in September, people familiar with the matter said, although it did not specify the timing of the listing or the offer price. SoftBank will continue to hold the majority of its shares.
The listing will supply the Japanese investment giant with much-needed funds to go on an offensive in a hunt for artificial intelligence-related start-ups after posting massive losses in the past few years.
A global market slump as well as rising interest rates worldwide has hurt SoftBank's investment portfolio, leading it to report a record net loss of 3.16 trillion yen ($21.6 billion) in the April-June quarter last year and prompting CEO Masayoshi Son to declare he would focus on increasing the value of Arm.
SoftBank acquired the British chip designer in 2016 for about 24 billion pounds ($30.6 billion), taking the company private in a bid to pursue business opportunities related to Internet of Things product network technologies.
However, faced with a worsening business environment due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Japanese company said in 2020 it would sell its entire stake in Arm to U.S. semiconductor maker Nvidia Corp.
In 2022, the company said it terminated the deal due to regulatory hurdles and said it would seek a public offering instead.
