ARM lifts Nasdaq ahead of NYSE on IPO capital raises

By Laura Matthews

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Exchange operator Nasdaq on Thursday edged out the New York Stock Exchange on the measure of capital raised by traditional initial public offerings so far this year following the debut of chip designer Arm, according to Dealogic data.

So far this year, 68 traditional U.S. IPOs on Nasdaq have raised $8.6 billion, surpassing $6.4 billion for NYSE, the data released on Thursday showed.

“Today has been a milestone day for Nasdaq with Arm being the largest IPO of the year. We’re proud to remain the exchange of choice for the most innovative companies in the world,” said Karen Snow, global head of listings at Nasdaq, in a statement.

Shares of SoftBank (TYO:)’s Arm Holdings opened 18% above the offer price in their Nasdaq debut on Thursday, valuing the British chip designer at nearly $60 billion in its return to the public markets after seven years.

NYSE has declined to comment.

A successful showing by Arm, analysts have said, could also help other companies follow its coattails.

“If after IPO, you see the soft pop … then it could induce more companies to go public in the second half. So, it has significance to the market,” said Owen Lau, senior analyst at Oppenheimer & Co.

About 150 companies are waiting to go public on the Nasdaq, a 40% increase from same time last year, a source familiar with the matter said.

This year, Nasdaq has won 87% of U.S. IPOs listings, and has led its rival for 38 consecutive quarters according to its own data. Because the two exchanges have different listings standards, some of Nasdaq’s IPOs may not qualify to list on NYSE.