Arm IPO Underway; Microsoft Re-submits Deal; Geely Earnings Bea

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Arm IPO Underway

SoftBank’s [9984.T] Arm has filed for its much-hyped IPO, which is set to be the biggest of 2023. The offering is being led by Barclays [BCS], Goldman Sachs Group [GS], JPMorgan Chase [JPM] and Mizuho Financial Group [8411.T]. SoftBank Founder Masayoshi Son will be counting on a successful debut, after his Vision Fund last year lost a record $30bn. Arm will price its IPO in mid-September, and is expected to seek a valuation of between $60bn and $70bn, reported Bloomberg.

Microsoft Re-submits Takeover Deal to UK’s CMA

Microsoft [MSFT] has launched its second attempt to clear its acquisition of Activision Blizzard [ATVI] with the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority; it has been given the green light in both the US and the EU. The new deal is substantially different to its previous incarnation and divests several gaming rights to French publisher Ubisoft Entertainment [UBI.PA], the shares of which rose 7.3% on the announcement.

Axiom Space Brings in $350m

Axiom Space has raised $350m in its latest funding round. The company — which is working with NASA on developing a private space station — has raised a total $505m. The anchor investors were Saudi Arabian brokerage house Aljazira Capital and South Korean pharmaceutical investment firm Boryung [003850.KS]. “Together, we are working to serve innovators in medicine, materials science, and on-orbit infrastructure who represent billions of dollars in demand over the coming decade,” Axiom CEO Michael Suffredini said in a statement.

Geely Earnings Beat

Leading Chinese carmaker Geely [0175.HK] has beat estimates with its first-half earnings. Reporting on Tuesday, the company said net income rose 1% to some RMB1.6bn in the six months to June 30, while revenue climbed 26%. Sales for its top-end electric vehicle (EV) line Zeekr grew 124%. In the US, regulators are investigating whether Ford’s [F] recall of nearly 49,000 Ford Mustang Mach-E EVs in 2022 was sufficient, or if more vehicles ought to be recalled.

Moderna signs cancer vaccine deal

Moderna [MRNA] has signed a deal with China-based CARsgen Therapeutics [2171.HK] to develop a cancer vaccine. The partnership will work on the Claudin18.2 mRNA, an off-the-shelf vaccine which codes for the Claudin 18.2 protein, an antigen associated with tumours. The US government has said it will urge all Americans to get a Covid-19 booster shot to prevent an autumn surge in infections — good news for vaccine-makers like Moderna, Novavax [NVAX], Pfizer [PFE] and BioNTech [BNTX].