- SoftBank has been asking for actual value of its investment for many years.
- Arm has been owned privately by SoftBank since 2016
According to a report, Arm, the British computer chip design company, has downgraded its targeted valuation. The report shares that the company was targeting between $50bn and $55bn (£40bn to £44bn), down from the $64bn valuation given by its owner, Softbank, in a transaction last month.
In coming days, the company is planning to talk with investors. Arm has been owned privately by the Japanese investment company SoftBank since 2016, when it was taken off the London Stock Exchange in a £24bn deal.
Arm has a big name in the global chip industry. The company’s designs are relied on some of the world’s largest computing companies, including Apple and Samsung, the biggest mobile phone manufacturers.
Reuters reported that Apple, Samsung, the chip companies Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices, Intel and Cadence, and Google’s owner, Alphabet, have agreed to invest in the IPO. The potential investors were approached for comment.
SoftBank has been asking for real value of its investment for many years. A $40bn deal to sell Arm to Nvidia fell through in 2022 after regulators objected, saying it could harm competition.
The results have made SoftBank realise Arm’s actual value, and it persuades investors that the company is worth as much as $80bn, says reports. Last month, SoftBank valued Arm at $64bn in a transaction with a fund that it controls.
The listing in New York’s Nasdaq stock exchange, home to many of the world’s biggest technology companies, has become a big challenge for Arm. Arm has been questioned by UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, who asked Arm to relist in London, where it was previously a member of the FTSE 100 index, but the lobbying effort failed.
