May welcomes boost for jobs from £24bn Japan tech takeover

THERESA May has welcomed Japan’s SoftBank snapping up UK technology company ARM Holdings in a £24 billion deal.

Following the Brexit vote, the Prime Minister said it showed “Britain is open for business”.

SoftBank pledged to embark on a major recruitment drive following its swoop for the Cambridgebased firm, which supplies microchips for Apple’s iPhone and employs 3,000 people in the UK.

The deal valued the technology firm at 1700p per share, up by 43 per cent on Friday’s closing share price of 1189p.

ARM chairman Stuart Chambers said: “SoftBank has given assurances that it will invest considerably in the business, including doubling the UK headcount over the next five years.”

However, experts have warned that the deal could lead to a “brain drain” if ARM Holdings’ businesses are moved out of the UK.

Analysts also expect more British firms to become foreign takeover targets, with the plunge in the value of the pound making UK firms cheaper following the Brexit vote. Speaking in the Commons for the first time since becoming PM, Mrs May said: “I have spoken to SoftBank directly.

“They have confirmed their commitment to keep the company in Cambridge and to invest further to double the number of UK jobs over five years. This £24 billion investment will be the largest ever Asian investment in the UK.”

Mrs May’s comments come just a week after she pledged to devise a “proper industrial strategy” to defend UK companies from being snapped up by foreign businesses, including firms in the pharmaceutical sector. The co-founder of ARM Holdings said the deal marked a “sad day” for the British technology sector.

Hermann Hauser tweeted that ARM Holdings’ remarkable growth was the “proudest achievement of his life”.

He added: “The proposed sale to SoftBank is a sad day for me and for technology in Britain.”

Mark Skilton, a professor of practice at Warwick Business School, warned that it could lead to a loss of skills and knowledge from the UK.

He added: “The concern of brain drain and ARM business moving from the UK must be considered in this equation.”