Arm priced shares at $51 each in a long-anticipated IPO, a sum which would raise $4.9 billion for parent company SoftBank Group and value the chip design company at $54.5 billion.

In total, 95.5 million shares were put-up for the oversubscribed sale, with the business going public on the New York Stock Exchange today (14 September).

The final price is at the top of guidance issued last week.

Underwriters have the option to purchase an additional 7 million shares to cover over-allotments, Arm said.

The completion of the IPO process will bring to an end protracted speculation on the process from media and analysts, which began in the immediate aftermath of the collapse of Nvidia’s attempt to buy Arm in 2022 for $40 billion.

SoftBank had planned an IPO in early 2023, but subsequently pushed its timeline, blaming economic uncertainty.

Several major industry players signalled their intent to buy shares, with TSMC announcing earlier this week its board had cleared it to buy up to $100 million-worth in the IPO.

Other names reported by Bloomberg to be in the frame for sizeable investments include Apple, Intel, Samsung and Nvidia.