Chip design firm Arm seeks up to $52 billion valuation in blockbuster U.S. IPO

Chip design firm Arm on Tuesday is looking to fetch as much as $4.87 billion in its upcoming blockbuster initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange, according to a fresh filing.

The deal could value the company at a much as $52 billion.

Arm submitted its updated F-1 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, setting out its ambitions to once again become a publicly listed company. It was previously dually listed in London and New York, before SoftBank acquired it for $32 billion in 2016.

As a British company, Arm qualifies as a foreign private issuer in the U.S. and its shares will count as American depositary shares, or ADSs. The company will list 95.5 million ADSs at a price range between $47 and $51. At the upper end of that range, CNBC estimates that Arm will likely raise up to $4.87 billion. At the lower end, the IPO would fetch $4.49 billion of fresh capital for Arm.

When the company floats in New York, it will look to tap into a deep pool of institutional funds. Arm seeks to ramp up its investments in research and development, particularly as it pursues growth in the artificial intelligence space with some of its newer chips.

At the upper end of the pricing range, Arm would also attain a total valuation of $52 billion, according to CNBC calculations. At the lower end, its valuation would come in below $50 billion.

Only 9.4% of Arm’s shares will be freely traded on the New York Stock Exchange, with SoftBank expected to own roughly 90.6% of the company’s outstanding shares following the completion of the IPO.

The underwriters for the listing have an option to purchase up to an additional 7 million American depositary shares, worth $735 million. If they choose to purchase these shares, SoftBank’s ownership of Arm will be reduced to 89.9%, the company said.