Arm’s Massive IPO Puts £40bn Valuation on UK Chip Designer as Trading Begins on Wall Street

Arm, the British chip designer, has begun trading on Wall Street in what is expected to be the largest US public listing this year. The company, which is backed by Japanese owner SoftBank, has secured enough investor support to reach the top end of its share price range, valuing the firm at over £40bn ($54.8bn). Only 10% of the company’s shares will be available for trading in New York, raising approximately £4bn ($5.5bn) for SoftBank, which will retain a 90% stake. Arm’s decision to list in the US instead of London comes as a blow to the London Stock Exchange. The company, which designs chips for smartphones and holds a 99% share of the mobile phone market, hopes to expand into cloud computing and artificial intelligence. The initial public offering (IPO) has primarily attracted institutional investors and tech giants, including Apple, Nvidia, Google, Intel, and Samsung Electronics. However, retail investors may need to wait for shares to begin trading before purchasing at potentially higher prices.