Arm Picks New York IPO, Dealing Blow to London

Arm, the U.K. chipmaker owned by SoftBank whose $40 billion sale to Nvidia was scuttled, said it has chosen to go public on the New York Stock Exchange, dealing a blow to London’s financial scene.

In a statement, the chipmaker said that pursuing a U.S.-only IPO in 2023 is “the best path forward for the company and its stakeholders.” The U.K. government had floated the idea of a dual New York-London listing.

For Arm, it is a return to the public markets for a company that designs processors for Apple’s iPhone. SoftBank took it private after acquiring the chipmaker for $32 billion in 2016.

For the IPO, Reuters cited sources saying that SoftBank wants Arm’s listing to raise at least $8 billion. The chipmaker is reportedly looking to submit paperwork for its IPO in late April, although SoftBank said previously it was in no rush given market volatility amid economic uncertainty.

Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Barclays and Mizuho Financial Group are to be the lead underwriters for the deal, according to a Reuters source, in what is expected to be one of the biggest tech floats in recent memory.

The U.K. government had put forward the idea of a double listing to Arm, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak even personally getting involved. But SoftBank was never really keen on the idea.

However, Arm said it may consider a later London listing since it was "proud of its British heritage," but no date or further information was provided.

The news is a huge blow to the U.K., which is trying to attract tech companies and talent to position itself as an innovation hub. The U.K., which boasts the slowest growth of any G7 nation, had relaxed its listing rules to entice tech companies such as Arm.

Last year, a proposed acquisition by Nvidia fell apart due to U.K. regulatory intervention.