4 things to know about Arm's IPO

The British chip designer will be listed Thursday on the Nasdaq

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SoftBank Group, the principal shareholder of British chip designer Arm, is set to list the company on the Nasdaq exchange in the largest offering of its kind in two years, with a valuation of up to $52 billion.

Here are four key points:

• This move comes as a $50 billion bet by SoftBank in an uncertain market. Arm is a leading microprocessor designer, known for its products used in 99 percent of the world's smartphones.

• SoftBank is aiming to raise between $4.5 billion and $5.2 billion through an Initial Public Offering of approximately 10 percent of Arm's capital. This valuation is higher than the $32 billion SoftBank spent to acquire Arm in 2016 but falls short of the $60 billion to $70 billion initially hoped for.

• The IPO represents a significant test for the capital markets, as it is one of the largest stock introductions since Rivian's IPO in November 2021. The IPO has garnered substantial attention from the Wall Street community and prestigious clients like Apple and Nvidia, who are prepared to invest $735 million in Arm.

• Some analysts express concerns about Arm's future growth potential, given its focus on microprocessors (CPUs) while the AI industry relies on more powerful graphics processing units (GPUs).