ARM Acquisition: What's In It for SoftBank?

Junko Yoshida, EETimes
7/19/2016 00:01 AM EDT

MADISON, Wis.—For proof that SoftBank is no ordinary Japanese conglomerate, look no further than its just-announced acquisition of ARM. Masayoshi Son, the smart, opinionated and hands-on CEO of SoftBank Group has constantly surprised the financial market with audacious bets like this.

Yes, SoftBank is Japanese, but it’s a company that defies the stuffy stereotype. It doesn’t subscribe to such Japanese traditions as snail’d-pace decision-making, bureaucratic quagmires, endless “internal” discussions, insular thinking and the ultimate paralysis of indecision.

To outsiders, though, the most vexing question about SoftBank’s deal with ARM is SoftBank itself.

Who are these guys and what’s in it for them? Put more bluntly, why does plunking down $32 billion for ARM really make sense for SoftBank?

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