SoftBank to Launch Biggest IPO of the Year as Chip Designer Arm Gets $52bn Price Tag

The tech company’s market debut is just hours away and its performance will show whether Masa Son has regained his ability to pick winners.

• SoftBank 9984, the Masayoshi Son-led tech behemoth, is about to witness the public-market debut of its UK-based chip designer Arm ARM. With just hours away from the IPO on the Nasdaq, Arm’s shares got priced at $51 a piece, the top of the initial range, wrapping the company at a $52bn valuation.
• The seemingly high number in a sluggish IPO market is actually below Masa Son’s implied valuation of $64bn. Arm’s core business is focused on chip designs, not chip making. Its designs are then used to churn out chips that go into nearly all of the smartphones on the market, as well as Apple computers.
• SoftBank, which bought Arm for $32bn in 2016, will float 95.5mn, or 9.4%, of the company’s outstanding shares to the public. In turn, the IPO is expected to raise $4.9bn for SoftBank in what’s shaping up to be the biggest IPO of the year. And the biggest test that could bring back Masa Son’s hero reputation after staggering losses, piled on more losses.