This is the largest debut on the New York Stock Exchange in nearly two years, marking the arrival of electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian, which was valued at $77 billion at the time, to Wall Street.
Arm, dont les modèles de semi-conducteurs sont intégrés à 99% des smartphones dans le monde, vise une valorisation proche de 52 milliards de dollars. Ce prix correspond au haut de la fourchette initialement établie par l’entrprise, comprise entre 47 et 51 dollars, ce qui témoigne d’un appétit soutenu des investisseurs. Mais, si la valorisation d’Arm est sensiblement plus élevée que les 32 milliards déboursés par la société d’investissement japonaise SoftBank Group pour prendre le contrôle d’Arm en juillet 2016, mais inférieure aux 60 à 70 milliards de dollars que visait SoftBank il y a encore quelques semaines, selon plusieurs médias.
Le soutien d’un groupe de clients de prestige
The company has set the unit price of the stock at $51 starting from Thursday on the Nasdaq electronic exchange, according to a statement released on Wednesday. The first day of trading will be closely watched as it is often seen as a crucial indicator of the quality of an IPO (initial public offering). To ensure the success of the project, Arm has enlisted the support of 27 banks, an unusually high number. The Cambridge-based company has also secured the backing of a group of prestigious clients, from Apple to Nvidia, who are ready to invest $735 million in its capital.
SoftBank, l’actionnaire majoritaire, va récupérer, au minimum, 4,87 milliards de dollars
SoftBank Group, the majority shareholder, will sell approximately 10% of the shares of the technological flagship on the market. It will receive a minimum of $4.87 billion and up to $5.22 billion if the over-allotment option is exercised, allowing intermediary banks to acquire an additional 7 million shares. The success of Arm’s introduction would be a form of redemption for SoftBank’s CEO and founder, Masayoshi Son, who has been mostly known in recent years for massive losses on technological investments. SoftBank has notably suffered several billion dollars in devaluation on its holdings in the fallen king of shared offices, WeWork, as well as in the capital of the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.
Un test grandeur nature pour le marché des introductions en Bourse
The baptism of fire of the British technological flagship is also a real-life test for the IPO market, which has been in hibernation for over 18 months, weighed down by central bank monetary tightening and tightening credit conditions. We have to go back to 1990 to find figures lower than those of the 2022 vintage. Already announced on the New York market, behind Arm, are the Instacart delivery platform, the online marketing specialist Klaviyo, as well as the manufacturer of the famous Birkenstock sandals, whose file was officially filed on Tuesday.
« Arm is somewhat of a special case, » argues Jay Ritter, a professor at the University of Florida specializing in IPOs, who believes that the company’s stock performance may not necessarily predict that of future IPOs. Indeed, Arm is a company that has dominated its market for several years, generating significant profits, rather than a startup in the development phase like Instacart or Klaviyo. « No one disputes that it is a high-quality company, » emphasizes the expert, « with substantial profits and a completely viable business, but the questions revolve around its growth potential. »
(Avec AFP)
