New U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss and chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng prepared to launch a last-ditch charm offensive to persuade Japan’s Softbank Group CorpSFTBY to list British tech company Arm in the U.K., the Financial Times reports.
The government looks to push for high-level talks with SoftBank executives after the official mourning period for the Queen ends next week.
Softbank previously indicated its desire to list Arm in the U.S.
However, Softbank executives explored the possibility of a rare dual listing to own a base on both sides of the Atlantic.
The dual listing implied that Arm could get index inclusion in both markets, boosting the number of funds that could invest in the company and fast-tracking it into the FTSE 100.
Still, the U.S. was their primary attraction due to its much higher valuations. London has faced flak for its unattractiveness to fast-growing companies, given the potential for higher valuations and deeper pools of investor cash in the U.S.
Truss’s administration saw the chance to win at least part of Softbank’s flotation as a “big and quick win” to exhibit its seriousness regarding London.
Talks between the government and Softbank broke down in the summer after the departure of Boris Johnson, who had become personally involved in pitching London to the Japanese company.
Softbank opted for the Arm IPO after Nvidia CorpNVDA deal collapsed amid fierce opposition from regulators and customers.
Nvidia reportedly built its latest data center processor, Grace using Arm’s next-generation of data center chip technology Neoverse V2 design.
