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Highlights
- UK PM Boris Johnson has stepped up to persuade SoftBank Group Corp-backed company Arm Ltd. to get listed in London instead of New York.
- Arm, the UK-based semiconductor and software design major has been planning to go for a US listing.
- Recently, a takeover proposal for Arm by the US chip firm Nvidia failed due to some regulatory concerns.
The top UK-based semiconductor and software design company, Arm Ltd., has been planning to go for a US listing, creating a big blow for London’s tech ambitions. According to a report released by the Financial Times (FT) on 2 May, UK PM Boris Johnson has stepped up to persuade the SoftBank Group Corp-backed company to get listed in its home country instead of heading towards the US market.
Arm eyeing Nasdaq Listing
Arm, known as the UK tech industry’s crown jewel, has been planning to ditch its home market and get listed in the US, mainly due to comparatively better share rules and valuations. Before going private in 2016, when the Japanese giant Softbank had taken over Arm in a $32 billion deal, the company used to trade on the London Stock Exchange as the biggest tech firm.
Recently, a takeover proposal for Arm by the US chip firm Nvidia failed due to some regulatory concerns, but SoftBank’s CEO Masayoshi Son declared that the plan B for the firm was to go for a large-scale IPO. According to him, Arm would start trading on the tech-focused Nasdaq stock market by March 2023.
RELATED READ: ARM eyes US listing: Will it sabotage London’s tech ambitions?
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Is London listing still on the cards?
Since Arm expressed its intention to float in the US, the UK has been making desperate attempts to attract the company to its home soil, despite the concerns that the London market may not even be deep enough for such a huge IPO. If Arm goes for a London IPO, it would be among the biggest London listings that have ever taken place.
The UK Government has been making changes to the listing regime to prevent the firms from going for US listings, but the present measures haven’t been enough. As per reports, Boris Johnson is making one last effort to pull Arm back to London and has thus urged SoftBank’s executives to consider the UK market over the US. Over the coming weeks, the UK’s Investment and the digital ministers are expected to continue with their lobbying endeavours and hold talks with the executives at SoftBank for the same.
However, according to the FT report, the people familiar with the matter believe that it is highly unlikely for Arm to change its plans of going for a Nasdaq listing.
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Bottomline
Though the UK Government is trying to convince Arm to change its plans for a US IPO, it looks like the UK’s biggest tech firm is going for a Nasdaq listing soon. The details related to the listing are expected to be released after the final talks with the UK Government come to an end.
