SoftBank's Arm has applied for listing on NASDAQ to compete for the world's largest IPO this year.

Thanks to CTOnews.com netizen OC_Formula for the clue delivery! CTOnews.com, August 22 (Xinhua)-- ARM, a chip design company owned by SoftBank, filed an initial public offering (I.P.O.) application with the SEC to be listed on Nasdaq under the symbol "ARM". It is understood that the IPO, planned for September, is expected to be the largest IPO transaction on a US exchange this year and could be one of the largest technology issuance deals in US history.

The application comes 18 months after Silicon Valley chipmaker Nvidia abandoned its $40 billion acquisition of Arm, which the FTC sued to block. Arm, which did not list expected share prices in Monday's filing, reported revenue of $2.68 billion for the fiscal year ended March, down slightly from $2.7 billion last year. Last quarter, Arm's net income per share was 10 cents, down from 22 cents a year ago.

The move will provide more capital for Softbank Corp., the parent company of Arm, to further invest in start-ups. In a recent meeting with investors and analysts, Softbank Corp. 's chief executive, Masayoshi son, said the company was ready to turn to "offense" in artificial intelligence. In the filing, Arm said that $30 billion worth of chips made by Arm were shipped in the last fiscal year and that Softbank Corp. would continue to be the controlling shareholder of Arm.

Arm is a 33-year-old company that develops and licenses blueprints for microprocessors that are converted into chips by other companies. Arm was once a public company until it was acquired by Softbank Corp. for $32 billion in 2016. Nvidia made a bid for the company in September 2020, but was strongly opposed by regulators and some major chip companies. Softbank Corp. has suffered huge losses since the failed acquisition, reporting a loss of $3.3 billion in the first quarter of this year. Vision Fund, its technology investment unit, reported a net loss of $3.3 billion in the second quarter, but an investment income of $1.1 billion, compared with $23.1 billion in the same period last year.

IPO filing means that Arm can begin to assess investor interest, which is critical for stock sales. The company still needs to say how much money it plans to raise in the offering and how much valuation it is seeking.