UK's Political Turmoil Tilted Scales For Arm IPO Towards US: FT

  • U.K. government's political turmoil has jeopardized Softbank Group Corp's SFTBY SFTBF Arm Ltd London initial public offering ambitions as it hit the pause button, the Financial Times reports.
  • U.K. PM Boris Johnson has personally lobbied SoftBank's billionaire, Masayoshi Son, to secure at least a partial listing for the chip designer on the LSE.
  • The collapse of Johnson's government earlier this month followed the exit of investment minister Lord Gerry Grimstone and digital minister Chris Philp who were instrumental in the IPO plans. 
  • Also Read: Qualcomm Keen To Procure Stake In Arm Ltd In Impending IPO
  • The political disruption could trigger the possibilities of a U.S. IPO, initially aspired by Son. Sources said that the London listing looked less likely than it had in the past.
  • SoftBank aspired for an unusual dual primary listing in New York and London, despite the higher costs and regulatory complexities of different exchanges.
  • Bankers close to SoftBank warned against a single listing in London driven by attractive incentives and other temptations. 
  • London has faced flak for its unattractiveness to fast-growing companies, given the potential for higher valuations and deeper pools of investor cash in the U.S. 
  • Therefore, the dual listing implied that Arm could get index inclusion in both markets, boosting the number of funds that could invest in the company, fast-tracking it into the FTSE 100.
  • SoftBank had recently invested in PrimaryBid, which provides a platform for retail investors to buy into IPOs. A source said that SoftBank could exploit it to attract private investors to the company in the U.K.
  • SoftBank opted for the Arm IPO after Nvidia Corp NVDA abandoned the proposed acquisition of the chip designer amid fierce opposition from regulators and customers.
  • Price Action: NVDA shares traded higher by 0.14% at $161.24 in the premarket session on the last check Tuesday.
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