SoftBank hired Arm’s IPO banks without clarity on fees

Chip designer Arm signed up 28 banks for its blockbuster initial public offering without giving them a fee arrangement, a reflection of owner SoftBank Group’s leverage over underwriters clamoring for a role, according to people familiar with the matter.

While it is common for the fees that banks receive in an IPO to be finalized at its completion, it is unusual for a company not to communicate to underwriters an approximate percentage of the offering they will receive as their cut, the sources said.