Arm’s stellar listing sets the stage for more SoftBank acquisitions

TOKYO: The roaring success of Arm Holdings’ stock market debut makes it much easier for owner SoftBank Group to revert to its natural state – acquisition-hungry.

Shares in the British chip designer jumped almost 25% on its first day of trade – propelling its value to more than double the $32 billion SoftBank paid to acquire it in 2016. The tech investment behemoth raised nearly $5 billion from Arm’s offering while retaining 90.6% of the firm.

Known for debt-fuelled acquisition sprees, SoftBank founder and CEO Masayoshi Son flagged in June that the company was shifting back into “offence mode” as he highlighted the potential of artificial intelligence.