SoftBank’s arm aims to raise at least $8 billion in a U.S. IPO, sources say

NEW YORK, March 5 (Reuters) – Arm Ltd, the British chip designer owned by Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp ( 9984.T ), is likely to aim to raise at least $8 billion from what is expected to be a major U.S. IPO this year, people familiar with the matter said Sunday.

Arm is expected to file confidential paperwork for the initial public offering in late April, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the discussions are confidential. The listing is expected to happen later this year and the exact timing will be determined by market conditions, the sources added.

SoftBank has selected four investment banks to lead what is expected to be the most high-profile IPO in recent years. Goldman Sachs Group Inc ( GS.N ), JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM.N ), Barclays ( BARC.L ) and Mizuho Financial Group ( 8411.T ) are expected to be the lead underwriters for the deal, the sources said. adding that no bank has been chosen for the coveted “lead left” position yet.

The Australian Financial Review reported on the leading banks earlier on Sunday.

Preparations for the IPO are expected to kick-start in the US in the coming days, the sources said. The valuation range has not yet been finalized, but Cambridge, England-based Arm hopes to be valued at more than $50 billion during the share sale, the sources said.

Barclays, JPMorgan and SoftBank did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Arm, Goldman Sachs and Mizuho declined to comment.

A successful listing for Arm this year would provide a boost to the IPO market, which has been largely frozen since Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine sparked market volatility and a huge selloff in technology stocks.

The IPO market briefly flickered back to life last month when a number of companies, including solar firm Nextracker Inc ( NXT.O ) and Chinese sensor maker Hesai Group ( HSAI.O ) listed their shares on U.S. exchanges, but investors remain wary . to invest in new shares.

IPO advisers do not expect a full recovery in the capital markets until the latter half of this year. read more

Arm said last week it would pursue a US-only listing this year, dashing the UK government’s hopes that the tech giant would return to the London stock market. read more

SoftBank has been pursuing an IPO for Arm since the deal to sell the chip designer to Nvidia Corp ( NVDA.O ) for $40 billion collapsed last year over objections from U.S. and European antitrust regulators.

Reporting by Echo Wang and Anirban Sen in New York; Editing by Will Dunham

Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.