by Echo Wang and Anirban Sen

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Arm Ltd, the British chip designer owned by Japan’s SoftBank Corp, is expected to seek to raise at least $8 billion in what is expected to be a spectacular U.S. IPO this year, sources familiar with the matter said on Sunday.

Arm is expected to confidentially submit the documents necessary for its IPO at the end of April, the sources said, on condition of anonymity because the discussions are confidential.

The IPO is expected to take place later in the year and the exact timing will be determined by market conditions, they added.

SoftBank has reportedly picked four investment banks to lead what may be the most high-profile IPO in years.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Barclays and Mizuho Financial Group are expected to be lead underwriters for the deal, the sources said, adding that no bank has yet been chosen for the coveted role of “chief file”.

IPO preparations are expected to kick off in the US in the coming days. The valuation range has yet to be finalized, but Arm, headquartered in Cambridge, England, expects to be valued at more than $50 billion in the deal, the sources said.

Barclays, JPMorgan and SoftBank did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Arm, Goldman Sachs and Mizuho declined to comment.

A successful listing for Arm this year would provide a boost to the IPO market, which has been broadly sluggish since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which triggered significant market volatility and a huge stock sell-off. technologies.

Arm last week indicated it would seek a US-only listing this year, dashing the UK government’s hopes of the tech giant returning to the London stock exchange.

SoftBank has been seeking to list Arm since its deal to sell the chip designer to Nvidia Corp for $40 billion fell through last year due to objections from U.S. and European antitrust regulators.

(Report by Echo Wang and Anirban Sen in New York, Benjamin Mallet)

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