ARM Holdings (ARMH) acquired by Softbank (SFTBY)

     

SoftBank unveiled an audacious $32 billion deal to acquire ARM Holdings, the British semiconductor designer. The deal — one of the biggest of the year — would give the Japanese company control of a firm whose chip designs can be found in most of the world’s mobile gadgets, from iPhones and drones to a growing array of smart devices and appliances for the home.

• The deal is the first major cross-border transaction in Britain since Brexit.
• Compared with this same time in 2015, for example, pound-denominated assets are 30 percent cheaper for buyers holding yen.
• The deal is the third-largest proposed corporate merger this year, behind Bayer’s offer for Monsanto and a Chinese state-owned company’s proposal for Syngenta, according to the deal-tracking firm Dealogic. If completed, it would also be the second-largest chip deal on record, after Broadcom’s $37 billion deal for Avago Technologies.
• SoftBank already has ties to ARM through Sprint, the American wireless carrier that it controls.  
• The deal is expected to close in November.

ARM Holdings: Softbank (SFTBY) confirms merger offer to acquire ARMH for GBP24.3 bln ($31.4 bln):

The boards of directors of SoftBank Group (SFTBY) and ARM Holdings (ARMH) are pleased to announce that they have reached agreement on the terms of a recommended all cash acquisition of the entire issued and to be issued share capital of ARM by SoftBank (or, at SoftBank's election, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SoftBank).

Under the terms of the Acquisition

• Each ARM Shareholder will be entitled to receive: for each ARM Share: 1,700 pence in cash
• The price of 1,700 pence per ARM Share represents a premium of:
  • ~43.0% to the closing price of 1,189 pence per ARM Share
  • ~42.9 % to the closing price per ARM ADR of $47.08, on 15 July 2016 (being the last Business Day prior to this Announcement);
• The consideration values the entire existing issued and to be issued share capital of ARM at ~24.3 bln (or $31.4 bln).
• The Acquisition is not subject to any anti-trust or regulatory conditions

** charts before  announcement **