Arm in talks with Apple, Intel, others over IPO investments

Apple’s Munich Apple Store

Well, this feels kind of important and I’m surprised it didn’t hit the Mac rumor mill, but it looks like Apple, TSMC, and others may be considering purchasing a goodly slice of Arm when it goes for its IPO.

Reuters claims talks taking place

Reuters has the news, which is that Arm is speaking with ten companies, including Apple.

That makes sense, given the extent to which Apple and TSMC make use of Arm reference designs in iPhones, iPads, Macs, and everything else. This also makes sense contextually, given the growing importance of Apple Silicon.

We had previously heard Apple had been offered a chance to invest in the company, but apparently declined. That may be because of competitive concerns – Apple competitors also use Arm reference designs, and they would have inevitably complained at such a deal. But Apple still has an office nearby.

Now it seems Arm is speaking with up to ten companies including:

• Apple
• TSMC
• Intel
• Alphabet
• Microsoft
• Samsung
• Others aren’t named.

Anchor investor status

The matter they are discussion is that of becoming ‘anchor investors’. This is a category of investor that can purchase shares at an agreed price before the IPO takes place. The company going through the IPO then gains a solid partner, which should help it raise investments elsewhere.

It is understood that the deals being discussed don’t give the companies any board level presence. Nothing is decided, the IPO won’t take place until August at the earliest, and the companies are, unsurprisingly, keeping their confidence. None of them commented to Reuters.

All the same, the future of Arm has to be interesting to Apple watchers.

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