SoftBank halts plans for Arm’s London IPO – FT

(Reuters) -SoftBank has put on hold plans for a London initial public offering of the British chip technology firm Arm Ltd because of the political turmoil in the UK government, the Financial Times reported on Monday.

The departures of investment minister Gerry Grimstone and digital minister Chris Philp, following the collapse of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government earlier this month, have led SoftBank to pause discussions about Arm’s UK listing next year, the FT reported, citing people briefed on the talks.

The political upheaval could pave the way for SoftBank to pursue a more straightforward U.S. listing, which the Japanese tech investor’s billionaire founder, Masayoshi Son, had originally favoured, according to the report. (https://on.ft.com/3zfmYen)

SoftBank acquired Cambridge, England-based for Arm $32 billion in 2016, and has been considering a dual-listing for the chip-designer in the UK and the United States.

Arm declined to comment. SoftBank and a spokesperson from the UK government did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

(Reporting by Shivani Tanna and Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)

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