Softbank is about to sell 25 percent of ARM — roughly $8 billion — to a new, Saudi-backed $100 billion investment fund, the Financial Times reported today. The Japanese shelled out $32 billion to purchased ARM only six months ago. In the global semiconductor industry. Mubadala (Abu Dhabi / UAE state-backed), which owns 100 percent of Globalfoundries, reportedly wanted the $100 billion Vision Fund to own a portion of ARM.
Japan’s Softbank announced last fall an ambitious plan to create the Softbank Vision Fund — a financial vehicle that would allow CEO Masayoshi Son to invest in the technology sector globally. The Fund, set up to raise $100 billion, aims to become “one of the world’s largest of its kind,” said Softbank last year.
While Softbank expects to pump at least $25 billion into the fund over the next 5 years, its biggest investor is Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which last year committed to contribute up to $45 billion. The deal is the fruit of long negotiations between Son and Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s deputy crown prince.
In order to hit the Vision Fund’s self-imposed $100 billion target, Son reportedly wanted to secure the backing of Mubadala.
Softbank CEO Son also has made news with the promise of a $50 billion job creating investment in the USA.
SOURCES- EETimes
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