Samsung talks put future of British chip-maker Arm future in doubt
>
Future of British chipmaker Arm in new doubt as Japanese owner flies to Korea for talks with Samsung
<!–
<!–
<!–<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
The future of British chipmaker Arm has been further questioned as the Japanese owner flies to South Korea for talks with Samsung.
Masayoshi Son, the CEO of Arm-mother SoftBank, will discuss a “strategic alliance” with Samsung for the British tech giant.
The move has raised fears that Arm’s blockbuster share price could be ‘put on hold’.
Alliance: Masayoshi Son, the CEO of Arm mom Softbank, will fly to Seoul next week to discuss a ‘strategic alliance’ with Samsung for British tech giant Arm
According to sources, Son wants to see if Samsung would take a stake in Arm as he has cooled off to list it in New York or London before March.
Son said, “I’m looking forward to visiting Korea for the first time in three years. I would like to talk to Samsung about a strategic alliance with Arm.”
A Samsung CEO replied: ‘A strategic alliance is a vague and broad concept. If he offers to sell Arm to us, we’ll have to consider that.’
Son has been investigating Arm’s listing in New York – and possibly London – but is concerned about the global downturn. A slump in tech stocks on New York’s Nasdaq has cast doubt on Arm’s suggested valuation of £40 billion.
A sale of a share to Samsung would give Arm a much-needed valuation ahead of a second attempt at IPO in 18 months to two years.
Arm was sold to SoftBank in 2016 for £24 billion. A proposed £31bn sale to Nvidia fell through last year due to regulatory hurdles.
Following Nvidia’s setback, Son turned his attention to an initial public offering of Arm in the US, a move that led to intense lobbying from the UK government to ensure that some of the offering takes place in London.
Russ Shaw, of Tech London Advocates, said: ‘It is questionable whether a float will deliver the value Son is looking for at this point.
His other option is to bring in an investor like Samsung, get a pre-float valuation and return to the markets when conditions improve. Time is everything.’
A source close to Arm said, “The float looks like it’s standing on ice.” The Samsung meeting comes as Prime Minister Liz Truss and Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng are reportedly meeting with SoftBank bosses.
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson lobbied SoftBank to list Arm in London, but SoftBank halted talks due to government changes. Andrew Griffith, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, would assist in renewed efforts.