Microprocessor developer Arm files for US IPO – Kommersant

British microprocessor developer Arm, owned by Japanese company Softbank, informed on filing for an initial public offering on the Nasdaq. The placement should take place in early September and, as notes Financial Timescould become the largest in the US since at least November 2021, when the IPO of electric car manufacturer Rivian took place.

Arm was acquired by the Japanese company Softbank in 2016 for $32 billion. According to the submitted application, Softbank intends to sell about 10% of Arm shares and expects the company to be valued at $60-70 billion. Microprocessors developed by the British company are used in almost all smartphones, and Arm’s share of this market exceeds 99%. “We estimate that approximately 70% of the world’s population uses Arm architecture products,” the company said in a statement. The manufacturer also clarifies that microprocessors based on its technologies occupy 49% of the market, whose volume exceeded $200 billion last year. As a result of the placement, Arm CEO Rene Haas will receive a cash reward of $20 million, as well as $20 million in company shares.

Meanwhile, Arm’s financial performance is now disappointing for investors. For the fiscal year ended March 31, the company’s revenue fell 1% to $2.7 billion. Net profit fell 5% to $524 million. In addition, the company indicated in its IPO filing that it was “particularly vulnerable to economic and political risks” affecting China, the world’s largest smartphone market. And this market accounts for 24% of Arm’s revenue.

Alena Miklashevskaya