Arm and Apple Sign Deal That will Last through 2040 and Beyond

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has signed a deal with Softbank’s chip designer firm Arm that will last through 2040 and beyond, according to a filing with the United States Securities and Exchanges (SEC). The filing also states that the consumer electronics giant will have access to some Arm architecture.

Arm says it has close partnerships with leading tech companies, including Samsung, OPPO, Vivo, Xiaomi, Amazon AWS, and Alibaba. It also mentions Siemens, Schneider Electric, Mercedes-Benz, and Raspberry Pi. It then added:

“Further, we have entered into a new long-term agreement with Apple that extends beyond 2040, continuing our longstanding relationship of collaboration with Apple and Apple’s access to the Arm architecture.”

Arm’s technology is currently used in almost all smartphone chips, including phones from Apple. The company also licenses its instruction set, which details how central processors perform basic functions, including memory access and arithmetic. The filing confirms that Arm has no plans to discontinue its relationship with any of its customers, crushing concerns that the company’s upcoming initial public offering (IPO) could alter its corporate structure and push customers away.

Arm is looking to list publicly in the US on the Nasdaq. The company will list 95.5 million American Depositary Shares (ADSs) that will sell for between $47 and $51. An estimate suggests that the range will pull between $4.49 billion and $4.87 billion.

Apple Clinched Arm Deal Ahead of IPO

Arm is seeking a valuation of up to $52 billion, which could make the IPO one of the year’s biggest listings. Although there is no exact date yet, the listing is expected this month. According to an F-1 filing, the IPO will feature Barclays, JPMorgan, Mizuho, and Goldman Sachs as joint book-running managers. 

The filing states that tech giants like Nvidia, Samsung, AMD, Google, Intel, TSMC, and a few others, have indicated interest in buying up to an aggregate of $735 million. However, these “Cornerstone Investors” could alter the terms of their purchases at any time:

“Because these indications of interest are not binding agreements or commitments to purchase, any of the Cornerstone Investors may determine to purchase more, fewer, or no ADSs in this offering, or the underwriters may determine to sell more, fewer, or no ADSs to any of the Cornerstone Investors.”

In 2020, SoftBank and Nvidia agreed for the giant chipmaker to buy Arm in a deal worth $40 billion. Nvidia was looking to expand its hold on the semiconductor market to develop chips for artificial intelligence computers. Nvidia was focused on preparing for next-gen tech that supports robotics, self-driving cars, and the Internet of Things (IoT) in general. At the time, Nvidia noted that Arm will operate its open-licensing model as one of its divisions. However, both companies released a statement last year stating they were suspending the deal. According to the statement, “significant regulatory challenges” prevented the deal’s completion despite good faith efforts shown by both parties.