SoftBank Group reportedly added chip designer Arm to a list of assets it is considering offloading to raise cash after recording its largest-ever annual loss in the year to end-March.

Sources told The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) SoftBank was mulling a sale of some or all of its stake in Arm, which it acquired for $32 billion in 2016. An IPO was again mooted as a possibility, though the newspaper noted SoftBank is at an early stage in terms of considering its options.

In March, SoftBank outlined plans to sell JPY4.5 trillion ($41.9 billion) in assets to reduce debt and buy-back JPY2 trillion worth of shares, after reporting a record net loss of JPY961.6 billion.

It sold about 65 per cent of its stake in T-Mobile US for an estimated $21 billion last month, and in May approved a sale of a 5 per cent stake of its domestic mobile operator valued at JPY310 billion as part of the moves.

However, the Arm speculation comes a week after the UK-based company detailed plans to offload its IoT division to SoftBank as part of a renewed focus on its semiconductor IP business.

WSJ also noted SoftBank’s Vision Fund was considering selling its 25 per cent stake in Arm to the parent company due to weak revenue growth.