SoftBank surprised the technology world with a plan to acquire British chip designer ARM Holdings for £23.4 billion ($31.4 billion) back in July, the biggest ever purchase of a European technology company. After less than two months, SoftBank is announcing today that the transaction is complete. The total acquisition price is approximately £24 billion ($31 billion), and ARM will now be de-listed from the London Stock Exchange tomorrow.
SoftBank’s purchase of ARM is the latest in a line of acquisitions in recent years for the Japanese company, including the $20 billion Sprint acquisition, and a $15 billion investment in Vodafone’s Japanese division. ARM is well known for designing chips and licensing them to companies like Apple and Samsung, and ARM-designed chips dominate mobile computing in phones and tablets. 15 billion ARM-designed chips shipped last year alone, and around half of those were in mobile devices.
SoftBank is expected to use the ARM deal to bolster its Internet of Things plans. While ARM only made around $1.5 billion in revenue last year, its low-power and efficient chips are shifting computing worldwide. SoftBank’s investment is clearly long-term, and it’s likely another wild bet that will pay off for the company.
