SoftBank buys ARM for $32 billion

ARM Holdings is the largest technology company in the UK, with more than 60 billion chips based on its chips shipped so far. Founded back in 1990, ARM now provides the chips for 95 percent of smartphones and 80 percent of digital cameras worldwide (including processor designs that use ARM technology). However, they will soon become part of SoftBank.

According to SoftBank's CEO Masayoshi Son, ARM is an "excellent strategic fit within the SoftBank group as we invest to capture the very significant opportunities provided by the 'Internet of Things'." He also added that ARM will remain an independent business with its headquarters in Cambridge, but SoftBank plans to double its workforce in the UK over the next five years. Even more, SoftBank also plans to push ARM and "accelerate its strategy and allow it to fully realize its potential beyond what is possible as a publicly listed company."

The value of the transaction is £24.3 billion - roughly $32 billion at current exchange rate, the largest Asian investment in the UK so far.