SoftBank considers selling Arm

Japanese conglomerate SoftBank is considering selling Arm Holdings as a whole or in parts, according to The Wall Street Journal. In 2016, SoftBank acquired Arm for the equivalent of 29 billion euros.

In addition to a full or partial sale, SoftBank is also investigating whether Arm Holdings can continue on its own through an IPO. The plans are in place according to WSJ sources still in an early stage and the Japanese company may decide not to proceed with them.

SoftBank took over the British Arm Holdings in 2016 for 24.3 billion pounds, which was 29 billion euros at the time. The Japanese company mainly wanted to acquire Arm because of the expected growth of the internet of things.

Last week Arm announced the two parts of his internet-of-things division, IoT Platform and Treasure Data to SoftBank, where they will continue as standalone entities. This allows Arm to focus more on the growth of its core business: designing chips. Among other things, Arm is optimizing his designs for PC and server use.

It’s no secret that SoftBank intended to divest Arm in the long run. Last year, Arm CEO Simon Segars announced the plan to spin off Arm by 2023.