business

May says Softbank-ARM deal shows Britain can be a success post-Brexit

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Of course, Brexit won't have a huge impact on companies like ARM who just license their intellectual property rather than selling tangible products or services across borders. Too bad the other 99% of businesses can't say the same.

2 ( +6 / -4 )

Softbank currently has around $23 Billion in cash and securities, the company also has $104 Billion in debt on its books. After this deal they will probably have around $130 billion in debt and roughly $15 Billion in cash and securities. With interest rates so low in Japan and even PM Abe pushing for more borrowing.... forget about BREXIT, Japanese companies should be on a shopping spree.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

How did the UK survive all those centuries before the EU?

0 ( +5 / -5 )

This is good news for British workers, it’s good news for the British economy, it shows that, as the prime minister has been saying, we can make a success of leaving the European Union

What's this got to do with whether the UK is in the EU or not?

5 ( +6 / -1 )

"What's this got to do with whether the UK is in the EU or not?"

Because the smug, doomsaying Remain camp has been telling us that investors would no longer be interested in Britain post-Brexit. This huge deal proves them wrong, just as their "financial markets in turmoil" and other narratives are being proved wrong.

-5 ( +8 / -13 )

I cannot see how selling off one of the U.K.'s greatest assets is a success.

If ARM had bought Softbank it might have been a different story.

15 ( +17 / -2 )

SoftBank’s decision to buy British chip designer ARM Holdings showed Britain’s economy could be successful

in selling off all its assets, including residential property?

7 ( +8 / -1 )

Agreed Dana, Japanese companies should go shopping. Esp since the yen is so strong now as well. I feel that a lot of the Brexit was hype, and the economic damage will be minimal/done out of spite by the EU. This is good news in general, and I hope the Stay camp chills out a bit more, as they greatly exaggerated what would happen.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

I hope the Stay camp chills out a bit more, as they greatly exaggerated what would happen.

After all, Britain "has had enough of experts" (and truth).

1 ( +4 / -3 )

May does not seem to know who Sofbank is nor what it is. It is not a success, but a dissaster. Which will make matters worse.

-2 ( +4 / -6 )

May does not seem to know who Sofbank is nor what it is. It is not a success, but a dissaster.

Softbank has been a success. What makes you think they have been a disaster?

3 ( +8 / -5 )

How much are ARM annual revenues ?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

So, Mr. Son just bought one of the world's best tech companies at a 10% discount.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EugL4W2FOBw

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Don't know if it's good for GB, but it certainly is good for Softbank. I think Mr. Son probably got it for a lot less than it is worth, thanks to BREXIT.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

If Softbank has money to invest, they should invest in their communication networks. If you go to country side, there still remain places difficult to communicate.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

If SoftBank plays its cards right, and if the Internet of things explodes as predicted, ARM could indeed become even more important than it already is.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

in selling off all its assets, including residential property?

So what are foreigners going to do with the property? Put it in their suitcase and leave? Opening up property to foreign investment has far more positives than negatives and the beauty is that it stays where it is!

0 ( +2 / -2 )

the smug, doomsaying Remain camp has been telling us that investors would no longer be interested in

a firesale?

2 ( +3 / -1 )

They spent a lot of time on this story on BBC WOrld News last night.

The way they put it was that 'most of the world's mobile phones use ARM microchips'. Whether that is the case or not is less important than various people thinking that it is the case.

Anyone with any common sense would read the comment of the new PM's spokesperson:

“This is good news for British workers, it’s good news for the British economy, it shows that, as the prime minister has been saying, we can make a success of leaving the European Union,” the spokeswoman said.

as a comment from the economically braindead.

But Mr Son, having put off his retirement plans recently has something new and interesting to do. I hope that someone else in SoftBank has his business acumen just in case he becomes as braindead as people around the new British PM seem to be.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

"After all, Britain "has had enough of experts"

The "experts" were wrong.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Quite right. lots of UK hotels and ad companies and filmmakers and engineering firms will also be cheap for Japanese companies now.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Opening up property to foreign investment has far more positives than negatives

And what about affordability: an outdated sentiment?

1 ( +2 / -1 )

WakarimasenJUL. 19, 2016 - 01:09PM JST Quite right. lots of UK hotels and ad companies and filmmakers and engineering firms will also be cheap for Japanese companies now.

I am not convinced. And despite the best intentions of everyone involved, almost every time, the UK has come out worse off. Over the past few decades Britain has sold companies to overseas interests at an unprecedented level, and the rate of sales shows no sign of slowing. The key problem is that when a British company is sold to a foreign owner, it is controlled in the interests of those people who are living abroad rather than of the workers based in Britain.

Profits made on foreign-owned companies are most likely to be paid in taxes to foreign governments. It is this offshoring of management jobs in the manufacturing and industrial sectors that has led to the weakening of experience and skillsets in the UK. It makes it more difficult for British managers to build the experience and skills they need to run effective industrial companies. If British school want to enter industry and manufacturing, there are now fewer and fewer opportunities. This has surely been a big contributor to the large skills gap between industrial managers in Germany and Britain.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

I feel that there is a problem in that, ARM, like for instance the underwriters, Lloyd's of London, or the financial services in the CIty of London, are successful due to high levels of trust felt towards the promises that these institutions make.

As I understand it, ARM managed to grow to the largest chip licensor in the world, because it succeed in encouraging its customers to (help) design its products! ARM said 'share with us your ideas for improvement, and we promise that we will not attempt to make these ideas our property, nor will we attempt to sell them to one of your competitors, but rather make all innovation available to everyone fairly, taking only the same percentage that ARM has always taken for compiling, maintaining and sharing the chip architecture'. At the very heart of ARMs business is trust, transparency, and compliance. Basing ones business model soley on these intangibles is also at the same time, a very risky move.

I think that the Japanese are great at many things, even at most things, but trust, transparency, and compliance may not be an area in which Japanese companies, perhaps including Softbank, excel. Japanese companies, perhaps with the exception of Softbank, often tend to be risk averse.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@JeffLee your assuming that the EU will still give duty-free market access and privileges to the UKs exports without the requirements that go with being in the EU. namely the free movement of people. UK biggest export market is the EU. if the EU just gives the Uk the privileges then why would other EU states want to stay within the EU. No the EU will make being within the EU more advantageous than countries that aren't members, common sense really

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Well,it shows one thing,still Britain the biggest stock market in Europe,the second after Wall street,still attractive for investors,low sterling pound is a good reason.I would confirm,Softbank bargain is a master stroke,they hunted when every one is afraid,hesitated and confused,let alone fears.The question is,how much such a bargain worth before Brexit,in case they would be (ARM)interested to sell it?the answer shows how clever Softbank is.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The ARM business model is outlined at https://www.arm.com/about/company-profile/arms-innovative-and-pioneering-ecosystem.php with downloadable PDF. The whole model is based on trust. The concept of "just enough" (taking just enough profit so as to benefit investors in ARM and the innovators "ecosystem") is laid out in oh so plausible detail from page 85.

The first problem is that the major stakeholders in ARM, who claimed to want to take only "just enough" of a cut out of the innovative ecosystem, opted to sell themselves to a Japanese company. The main stockholders of ARM became therefore presumably opted to become million/billionaires. Is this "just enough"?

The second bigger problem is, the question as to whether trust can be purchased. As soon as one sells trust, then I think that this may imply that the trust has ended. NVIDIA and other Taiwanese and Chinese innovators who created the ARM technology in the hope that the ARM 'gentlemen' would continue to oversea the innovation exchange, may be feeling very upset. The 'gentlemen' decided to retire to enormous wealth leaving their innovations in the hands of normal voracious Asians (Softbank).

Likewise, the third problem is that the remaining ARM employees (who are presumably as "just enough" as those that sold out) are likely to be feeling miffed and ready to form BRM or MRA or any other acronym and I think that they will do so. When Nomura bought Lehman Brother's European arm the cool Lehamites left. I fear that the the core of ARM may migrate en masse. They will slag off their new owners. And to an extent they will be being 100% honest. And to an extent they will be hoping to do sell out #2, to Sony next time!?

I don't see this working. You can't buy trust especially when it was a shell game in the first place.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

the answer shows how clever Softbank is. buying a bargain when a currency is low isn't necessarily clever, just common sense, what you have to ask is it clever for Softbank to put themselves more than $100billion in debt!? It could work out to be a masterstroke or a massive stuff up, time will tell.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

There's no need to fear..... money is cheap in Japan and.... no need to worry about paying it back. When is the last time you've heard of a large Japanese company defaulting on a loan and declaring bankruptcy? The govt just buys the company and puts it on life support.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

SenseNotSoCommon, in the financial sector, most experts are selling you something. Almost all advice, is trying to get you to buy something, or sell something on their behest. If you listened to the experts, you would have cashed out in 2012 as a recession was coming, according to them, and have been waiting for a stock market bottom. I also believe that the Bank of Scotland advised everyone to cash out their securities, which if you follow the market is bad advice.

Anyhow, there is a never ending list of terrible calls by economic and financial experts. Listening to them, doesn't mean you are smart, it means that you don't do your own research.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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