British microchip design giant Arm has filed for a sale of its shares in the US, setting the stage for what could be the biggest listing this year.
The Cambridge-based company is reportedly aiming to raise up to $10bn (£8bn).
In a swipe at Britain, the company said in March it had no plans to list its shares in London.
Arm was bought by Japanese conglomerate Softbank in 2016 in a deal worth £23.4 billion. At the time, Arm was listed in London and New York.
Softbank said it has “confidentially filed a draft registration statement” for the listing with the SEC.
The announcement didn’t say how much it planned to raise or when the stock sale might take place.
The company was reportedly looking to raise between $8 billion and $10 billion by listing on the tech-heavy Nasdaq platform this year.
In March, Arm said he had no plans to seek a listing on the London Stock Exchange.
According to reports in January, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had resumed talks with Softbank over a possible listing in London.
However, Arm said it decided that a US-only listing was “the best way forward”.
The registration shows that Softbank is moving forward with the multi-billion dollar sale despite difficult conditions in global financial markets.
The number of stock market listings has fallen sharply since Russia invaded Ukraine. At the same time, stocks of major tech companies have fallen in the wake of the pandemic.
Softbank said the listing is “subject to market and other conditions and the completion of the SEC’s review process.”
Last year, Softbank called off its proposed $40 billion sale of Arm to tech giant Nvidia after it faced regulatory hurdles in the UK, US and EU.
Sometimes referred to as the ‘crown jewel’ of the UK technology sector, Arm was founded in 1990 in Cambridge, England.
His chip designs are used by manufacturers like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and companies like Apple and Samsung to build their own processors.
After an acute shortage of semiconductors during the pandemic, the chip industry faced a slowdown in demand.
Last week, US chipmaker Intel reported its biggest quarterly loss in company history, while South Korean rival Samsung reported a 96% drop in earnings.
A successful listing of Arm would be welcome news for owner Softbank. Its Vision Funds were hit by losses due to falling valuations of many of its investments in tech startups.
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