DHAKA: ARM Holdings, one of the UK's biggest technology companies, is set to announce it is being bought by Japan's Softbank for £24bn.

The board of ARM is expected to recommend shareholders accept the offer close to a 50% premium on its closing market value of £16.8bn on Friday.

The Cambridge-based firm is possibly the most precious jewel in the crown of British technology.

Its microchip designs are in an array of devices including Apple's iPhone, BBC reports on Monday (July 18).

Sources close to the deal said that the Japanese company considered ARM well placed to exploit the ‘internet of things’ the embedding of microchips in whole new categories of household and business devices.

The proposed takeover of ARM poses a dilemma for the new government. Along with high executive pay, Prime Minister Theresa May has put foreign takeovers on her radar of business dealings that may be bad for the national interest.

However, the government will be keen to show that the recent Brexit vote has not deterred foreign investment.

The BBC understands that Softbank will commit to doubling the size of ARM's UK workforce over the next five years. Barring government intervention, the final decision will be made by shareholders.

ARM, which was founded in 1990, employs more than 3,000 people.

BDST: 1625 HRS, July 18, 2016
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