(Bloomberg) — Arm Holdings Plc Chief Executive Officer Rene Haas said a secondary share sale in London was not a priority more than a year after the UK-founded chip designer chose New York for its initial public offering.
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“It’s not something that’s at the top of mind right now, quite candidly,” Haas said in an interview during the Bloomberg Tech Summit in London on Tuesday. “We’ll continue to have discussions with both stakeholders in the government and on the local exchange.”
The UK government lobbied for a dual listing for Arm, which is majority-owned by SoftBank Group Corp., before the Japanese company chose to sell shares only in the US. The decision, based in part due to UK disclosure requirements, was a blow to London’s ambitions to be a magnet for tech companies and its status as a global financial hub.
In the aftermath, the UK worked to simplify its listing rules, including allowing companies more autonomy without being subject to shareholder votes.
Arm shares have risen nearly 200% since its September 2023 IPO.
‘Strange Bedfellows’
Haas called for more geographic and supplier diversity in the semiconductor industry, which is currently dominated by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
Arm relies on its sometime competitor, troubled Intel Corp., according to Haas. The pair might be “strange bedfellows,” but Arm works closely with Intel, he said.
“We work very closely with their engineers to make sure that the leading-edge technology can run on Arm,” Haas said. “We want to see Intel successful.”
He declined to comment on a Bloomberg News report last month that Arm sought to buy Intel’s product division.
Intel, once the world’s largest chipmaker, has struggled in recent years, with its shares dropping to their lowest point since 2010 in September. That month, the firm announced plans to slash 15,000 jobs and scale back factory expansion plans.
Arm makes much of its revenue selling chip designs for smartphones, although Haas has sought to broaden its reach outside of that industry.
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