SoftBank Acquiring ARM for $31 Billion
Today, the Japanese firm SoftBank have announced that they have come to an agreement to acquire UK-based chip designer ARM Holdings for some $31 billion. The acquisition will be an all cash transaction in which SoftBank will purchase 1,412 million shares of ARM. The acquisition is a great one for SoftBank as ARM is unquestionably the dominant player in the mobile device chip market which continues to grow globally and with Internet of Things growth happening at the same time, the company is poised to be in an excellent position over the course of the next several years.
Masayoshi Son, Chairman and CEO of SBG, said: “We have long admired ARM as a world renowned and highly respected technology company that is by some distance the market-leader in its field. ARM will be an excellent strategic fit within the SoftBank group as we invest to capture the very significant opportunities provided by the “Internet of Things”.
Keep in mind that ARM does not itself produce chips. Rather, they license the Intellectual Property of their designs to others to produce the chips.