19/07/2016
Press Release: Cambridgeshire Tech Company ARM Holdings Agrees Sale to Japanese Company SoftBank
ARM Holdings, the Cambridge-based software and technology firm that designs microchips used in thousands of globally distributed products, yesterday agreed an offer of sale to Japanese IT company SoftBank, owned by Masayoshi Son, at a price of £23.4 billion. If approved, it would be Softbank's largest overseas acquisition to date, and the largest ever investment into the UK from Asia. This is a huge vote of confidence in the UK economy.
Today in Parliament, Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond stated that after having spoken to SoftBank, he received some hard guarantees about the future of the company in the UK: that its headquarters would remain in Cambridge, and that SoftBank intends to double ARM’s workforce within the next five years. Furthermore, the Chancellor said that SoftBank has a clear vision of Cambridge as the global centre of developing the internet of things, and that ARM would play a key role in developing this industry.
Local MP Lucy Frazer, whose constituency of South East Cambridgeshire is home in part to ARM offices, welcomed the news. Ms Frazer raised with the Chancellor in Treasury Questions the importance of continuing to invest in local infrastructure to support business development, recognising that if businesses are to grow and prosper they will need proper infrastructure provisions to support them. Ms Frazer identified in particular improvement on roads, such as the A10.
The Chancellor agreed with Ms Frazer, and reiterated that raising the UK’s productivity is the key long term challenge for the UK economy, and infrastructure investment is one of the ways to tackle this. The Chancellor also stipulated that the success of Cambridge today, not only as a centre of academic excellence, but as an innovation hub of global importance, is in part due to the decisions made to develop the Business Park, which is now a world magnet for business investment.
Ms Frazer says: “SoftBank has made a huge investment in ARM, a fantastic Cambridgeshire business which is at the forefront of technology and innovation. In particular, I welcome their commitment to keep headquarters in Cambridgeshire and double jobs, which is a great economic opportunity for the area. I am also glad that the Chancellor agrees we can only continue to attract investment like this if we have the infrastructure to support it.”
Notes to Editors:
Contact: Roxy Lackschewitz-Martin, [email protected] or 0207 7219 5082