Softbank’s Arm IPO Produces $18 Million in Big Law Firm Fees

The largest anticipated initial public offering this year has generated nearly $18 million in legal fees for three major law firms, according to a Tuesday filing by Arm Holdings Ltd.

Morrison & Foerster, Sullivan & Cromwell, and Davis Polk & Wardwell are advising on SoftBank Group Corp.‘s move to take chip designer Arm public, the company said in the filing. Arm, which designs chips for a majority of the world’s smartphones, didn’t specify how much of the designated legal fees will go to each firm.

The IPO on the Nasdaq exchange could value Arm at around $52 billion, according to the company. SoftBank is seeking to raise up to $4.87 billion from 95.5 million depository shares priced from $47 to $51 apiece for the UK chip designer.

Morrison & Foerster, Arm’s longtime outside legal adviser, is representing the company in the IPO, while Sullivan & Cromwell is advising SoftBank. Davis Polk lawyers are working with the deal’s underwriters, a group that includes Barclays Plc, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JP Morgan Chase & Co., and Mizuho Financial Group.

SoftBank last year abandoned talks to sell Arm to Nvidia Corp for $40 billion, amid scrutiny from antitrust regulators. Arm was public until 2016, when SoftBank bought it for $32 billion.