18th Jul 2016 06:11
LONDON (Alliance News) - ARM Holdings PLC on Monday confirmed it has agreed to be acquired by Japanese technology and telecommunications conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp for GBP24.3 billion.
The agreement earlier had been reported by the Financial Times newspaper.
The FTSE 100-listed company, which makes chips used in smartphones and other connected devices, said SoftBank will pay 1,700.00 pence per share, a 43% premium to ARM's closing price on Friday of 1,188.73p and a 42% premium to the all-time high that ARM shares hit in March 2015.
SoftBank said is intends to maintain ARM's existing management team and brand and will maintain the company's headquarters in Cambridge. It plans to at least double ARM's UK headcount over the next five years and will boost the group's employee numbers internationally too.
ARM's board said it unanimously recommends the offer.
"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"," said SoftBank Chairman and Chief Executive Masayoshi Son.
"It is the view of the board that this is a compelling offer for ARM Shareholders, which secures the delivery of future value today and in cash. The board of ARM is reassured that ARM will remain a very significant UK business and will continue to play a key role in the development of new technology," ARM Chairman Stuart Chambers.
"The board believes that by accessing all the resources that SoftBank has to offer, ARM will be able to further accelerate the use of ARM-based technology wherever computing happens," Chambers added.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
Copyright 2016 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
ARM.L