The anticipated plans to list the British chip designer Arm on the stock exchange have been delayed by managers who fear the global economic downturn and a slump in tech shares could spook potential investors.
The company wrote to private shareholders a few days ago, saying the initial public offering (IPO), which could value the company at up to $40 Billion, would not take place until well into next year. The company was widely expected to float as soon as the first quarter of next year.
“Clearly, we want to IPO as soon as is possible. But given the current global economic uncertainty, given the state of financial markets, that’s probably now unlikely to happen before the end of March 2023,”
Ian Thornton, Arm’s head of investor relations, told investors.
Analysts have previously estimated that Arm whose chip designs are used by more than 500 clients including Apple, Samsung and Google in products ranging from iPads and mobile phones to cars and smart TVs could be worth up to $40 Billion when it goes public.
But shares in big tech companies including Meta, Alphabet and Amazon have slumped this year, amid fears that surging inflation, rising interest rates and economic uncertainty would hit consumer demand and advertising revenues.
The delay to Arm’s IPO plans will put additional pressure on its owner, SoftBank, which bought the chip company for $32 Billion in 2016 but has suffered from a string of bad investments.
