We were commissioned to photograph the press release of the ground breaking purchase of ARM chip designer in a $32 billion cash deal by Softbank. The Press release was held at the Four Seasons Hotel Park Lane, with all the details kept top secret right up until the moment of the press release; and indeed the deal itself was said to have been made within a week!
The room was filled with world press, many of whom had been notified only moments before the event took place! BBC were among those in attendance, and posted an interesting article about the deal here. Reuters also featured an interesting article on the deal here.
Japan’s SoftBank (9984.T) will buy Britain’s most valuable technology company ARM (ARM.L) for $32 billion in cash, an audacious attempt to lead the next wave of digital innovation with a chip designer that powers the global mobile phone industry. Led by the charismatic Japanese investor, Masayoshi Son, SoftBank swooped on the Apple supplier ARM in the three weeks since Britain voted to leave the European Union, a result which stunned financial markets and has sent sterling down 11 percent against both the dollar and yen.
While the drop has made British assets much cheaper for foreign investors, the chief of the telecoms and internet group played down any suggestion that this was an opportunistic deal. Son said he had been following ARM for the last 10 years and decided now was the right time to invest in a firm that provides the technology in nearly all smartphones including Apple’s (AAPL.O) iPhone and Samsung’s (005930.KS) Galaxy.
