Japan’s SoftBank grabs ARM in £24 billion deal

British microchip designer ARM Holdings has accepted a £24.3 billion cash takeover bid from Japan’s Softbank in the biggest European technology deal ever.

ARM, which is a big supplier to Apple but also to rival smartphones makers, said the deal would mean that it could develop and grow faster.

Softbank made a commitment to keep ARM’s headquarters in Cambridge and to double its UK workforce from its current 1600 over the next five years.

Chancellor Philip Hammond welcomed the £24 billion investment, which he said was “the largest ever from Asia into the UK” and showed “Britain is open for business” after the Brexit vote.

Softbank is offering 1700p for each ARM share, a massive 43% premium to the closing price on Friday and a 69% premium to its average price over the past three months. ARM shares immediately jumped 511p to 1700p, which suggested investors do not expect a counterbid.

“There has been plenty of speculation about us in the past,” said ARM chief executive Simon Segars, referring to talk of bids from Intel or Apple.

“Who knows if someone might counterbid. But the package we have negotiated with Softbank and the shared vision we have make this offer compelling for our staff and our shareholders.”

He said the deal had happened very quickly. “It was a matter of weeks, not months,” he said. “Brexit was not really a factor. In fact it is slightly more expensive for the Japanese post-Brexit. This is about driving the future. Softbank is not looking at stripping costs out. It’s looking at building the business.”

The pound has fallen some 30% against the yen over the past year.

ARM-designed chips are in everything mobile from iPhones to tablets and in increasing demand for the so-called Internet of Things, which sees them in anything from fridges to driverless cars.