Arm, the UK-based chip designer that powers many of the world’s smartphones and devices, is set to make its comeback to the public markets in New York on Thursday with a valuation of $52.3bn (£41.9bn).

According to news, the company, which was acquired by Japan’s SoftBank in 2016, priced its shares at $51 each and sold 95.5m shares, raising $4.87bn for its owner.

The IPO is the largest one in the US since the electric carmaker Rivian Automative went public in 2021, and is the biggest IPO of the year.

Arm had previously lowered its valuation target ahead of the float.

Reuters reported that Arm was aiming for a valuation between $50bn and $55bn, down from the $64bn valuation that SoftBank gave it in a deal last month.

Arm has more than 500 customers, including Samsung, Google and Apple, who use its chip designs for products such as iPads, mobile phones, cars and smart TVs.

The company decided to list only in the US, despite the UK prime minister Rishi Sunak’s efforts to attract more tech listings to London.

Arm claims that 70% of the world’s population use Arm-based technology. Its designs are essential for the functioning of the iPhone and other smartphones. The company employs more than 5,000 people.

Arm’s valuation is very high compared with other chip companies, except for Nvidia, which is worth more than $1tn.

Some analysts said that Arm’s share price was partly driven by the expected growth of artificial intelligence (AI), which requires more powerful chips to perform complex calculations.

Arm Holdings plans to raise $4.87 billion in world’s largest IPO this year