SoftBank-funded chipmaker Arm Holdings files for biggest US IPO of 2023

SoftBank-funded Arm Holdings' Group stated that it will opt for a US initial public offering (IPO) that is anticipated to be the largest listing of the year as a consequence of its annual revenue's 1% fall slowing down its smartphone sales.

Its IPO is anticipated to revive the sluggish IPO market, which over the past year has seen many high-profile businesses postpone their intentions to list owing to market turbulence.

The British company has fared better than others during the crisis in the chip sector and is expanding into markets that are still thriving.

Arm's sales decreased to $2.68 billion for the fiscal year that ended on March 31, primarily due to a decline in global smartphone shipments. The quarter saw a 2.5% decline in sales, at $675 million.

In its most recent fiscal year, Arm reported that consumer electronics and cell phones accounted for more than 50% of its royalty income. According to Counterpoint Research, the global smartphone market is on pace to fall to its lowest level in a decade this year.

Despite heavily depending on royalties from cellphones, Arm's revenue has only slightly decreased, which means its per-chip prices have gone up.

The business, whose chip technology powers the majority of devices, including iPhones, did not disclose the number of shares it planned to sell or the price it would seek for them.

As a joint venture among Acorn Computers, Apple, and VLSI Technology, Arm was established in 1990. From 1998 until 2016 when SoftBank purchased Arm for $32 billion, the firm was traded on the Nasdaq and the London Stock Exchange.

After a deal to sell Arm to Nvidia for $40 billion fell through last year because of concerns from American and European antitrust regulators, SoftBank started making plans for an IPO of the company.