Arm snubs London by choosing U.S. listing

STORY: There was a big blow for the City of London on Friday (March 3).

Chip designer Arm has chosen New York for an IPO.

That was seen as a major snub, as the firm was listed in London for 18 years until being bought out by Japanese investor SoftBank in 2016.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had even been involved in efforts to make it choose the City.

He reportedly held a meeting with Arm boss Rene Haas in Downing Street last month.

The loss also follows a move by Irish building materials giant CRH to move its primary listing to the U.S.

Arm designs the processor technology used in almost every smartphone, including Apple’s iPhones.

But the firm says it decided on a U.S. listing after talks with the government and regulators.

However, it says its headquarters will remain in the UK, and its workforce there will increase.

It didn’t rule out a London listing at some future date.

SoftBank has decided to list Arm after a deal to sell it to rival chip designer Nvidia fell foul of competition watchdogs.