Prime Minister and chancellor hail SoftBank’s Arm bid as a “vote of confidence in Britain”
The Prime Minister and chancellor have today spoken out in support of SoftBank’s takeover bid for UK tech firm Arm Holdings.
Cambridge-based Arm revealed today it had received a £24.3bn offer from the Japanese company, sending its share price up by more than 40 per cent.
Read more: Paying an Arm and a leg? Chipmaker shares rocket on takeover news
Chancellor Philip Hammond said the offer, coming weeks after the UK voted for Brexit, showed that the country “has lost none of its allure to international investors”.
“Britain is open for business – and open to foreign investment,” he said. “SoftBank’s decision confirms that Britain remains one of the most attractive destinations globally for investors to create jobs and wealth.
“And as Arm’s founders will testify, this is the greatest place in the world to start and grow a technology business.”
Read more: Weak sterling helps reel in foreign buyers for British firms
The deal also received backing from Number 10 – Theresa May personally spoke to Softbank execs ahead of the deal yesterday.
A Downing Street spokesperson said: “We welcome the announcement of an investment this morning from SoftBank into Arm. This is clearly a vote of confidence in Britain.”
Since taking over as Prime Minister last week, May has indicated that takeover bids for British firms must be assessed to determine whether they’re in the national interest.