Arm’s IPO orders already oversubscribed by 10 times

NEW YORK –

Arm Holdings’ initial public offering (IPO)

is already oversubscribed by 10 times and bankers plan to stop taking orders by Tuesday afternoon, according to people familiar with the matter.

Arm, controlled by SoftBank Group, will close its order book a day early on Tuesday, but is still planning to price its shares on Wednesday, the sources said. It is not uncommon for books to close early for an IPO, which often indicates strong demand.

The offering could end up as much as 15 times oversubscribed by Wednesday, the sources added. Nothing is finalised and the IPO orders could always change.

A representative of Arm declined to comment.

Arm is still

considering raising the price range of its IPO

as well, Bloomberg News previously reported. Arm filed for its IPO at US$47 to US$51 a share, which could value the company at US$54.5 billion (S$74 billion) at the high end of the range.

The company – which is a key part of the chip supply chain, designing semiconductors found in most of the world’s smartphones – had earlier sought to be valued at US$60 billion to US$70 billion in the IPO.

SoftBank has bought Vision Fund’s stake in Arm at a valuation of more than US$64 billion. After the IPO, SoftBank will control about 90 per cent of Arm’s shares, leaving a limited free float in the market.

A successful debut by Arm would provide a windfall for SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son, whose Vision Fund lost a record US$30 billion in 2022. The listing could also revitalise the US IPO market, with online grocery delivery firm Instacart and marketing and data automation provider Klaviyo among those ready to pursue their first-time share sales. BLOOMBERG