Prime Minister Sunak Holds Talks to Retain SoftBank... Resumes ARM's UK IPO Discussions

Sunak held a video meeting with Son Jeong-ui last month
Foreign media positively evaluate the talks

Masayoshi Son, CEO of SoftBank

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Major foreign media reported on the 9th (local time) that the UK government has resumed talks with major shareholder SoftBank to list ARM, a semiconductor fabless company headquartered in the UK, on the London Stock Exchange. With listing discussions having been halted following the resignation of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, attention is focused on whether his successor, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, can succeed in persuading SoftBank again.

According to major foreign media citing anonymous sources, last month Prime Minister Sunak and UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Andrew Griffith held a meeting with ARM's CEO Rene Haas and Chief Legal Officer (CLO) Spencer Collins. SoftBank Chairman Masayoshi Son also participated in the meeting via video conference.

Major foreign media described the talks between the two sides as very constructive and positive. However, they reported that due to the complex procedures and high costs involved in dual listing, the UK government and London Stock Exchange executives are still facing difficulties in persuading SoftBank.

So far, the UK government has put considerable effort into persuading SoftBank to pursue a plan for ARM to be simultaneously listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange. This is because, amid efforts to strengthen the country's technology sector, there are concerns that if ARM pursues listing only in New York rather than London, the UK economy would suffer a significant blow. ARM provides the most critical design IP for semiconductor production, was once one of the UK's core technology companies, and still retains most of its business operations in the UK.

In response, former UK Prime Minister Johnson sent a letter to Chairman Son in May last year urging the listing. Former Prime Minister Liz Truss, who resigned 45 days after taking office, was also reportedly planning to resume negotiations with SoftBank in September last year.

However, Bloomberg reported that SoftBank decided to temporarily suspend discussions on listing on the London Stock Exchange. This decision is analyzed to have been made amid political turmoil in the UK, including Johnson’s announcement of his resignation plan and the mass resignation of senior officials.

Previously, SoftBank signed a sale agreement with US company Nvidia for ARM in 2020 but failed to merge due to opposition from global IT companies. Since February last year, SoftBank announced it would proceed with a corporate listing instead of a merger. Chairman Son has repeatedly expressed his intention to focus on listing on the New York Stock Exchange, citing the broad investor base and attractive company valuation.

At that time, major foreign media reported through anonymous sources that most small investors considered an IPO in New York more appropriate than in London, and that SoftBank was unlikely to change its mind about pushing for a New York Stock Exchange listing instead of the London Stock Exchange.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.