British chipmaker Arm Holdings is being considered for an initial public offering (IPO) by its parent company SoftBank Group Corp, which acquired the firm for around US$23bn four years ago.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, the Japanese conglomerate could also sell Arm off, with multiple options under consideration including doing nothing.
SoftBank has reportedly hired Goldman Sachs to explore options for the company, which recently scored a big win when Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) said it will stop using Intel chips for its Mac computer range and transition to ones using Arm’s architecture.
Arm’s potential float comes as SoftBank looks to bolster its finances, which were shaken last year by an US$18.5bn bailout of shared office space provider WeWork after it was forced to scrap its IPO amid concerns over its potential profitability and the behaviour of its then CEO and co-founder Adam Neumann.
The conglomerate has already sold around US$20bn in shares of T-Mobile US Inc (NASSDAQ:TMUS), and is currently planning to offload a total of US$41bn from its portfolio to help balance the books.