ARM snubs London and decides on US-only listing

UK technology firm Arm has snubbed the London Stock Exchange and decided to list its shares on the US stock market.

Cambridge-based Arm, owned by Japanese investment firm SoftBank, made the decision despite continuous lobbying by successive UK prime ministers, senior ministers and officials.

“After engagement with the British government and the Financial Conduct Authority over several months, SoftBank and Arm have determined that pursuing a US-only listing of Arm in 2023 is the best path forward for the company and its stakeholders,” the company said on Friday.

SoftBank last year decided it would seek to re-list the business - the world’s biggest supplier of chip design elements used in products from smartphones to games consoles - on the stock market after a $40bn (£33.4bn) takeover by US firm Nvidia was blocked over competition concerns.

The move is the latest blow to London, where Arm was listed until it was snapped up by SoftBank for £24.6bn in 2016.

It also comes a day after building materials giant CRH revealed it is planning to shift its main stock market listing from London to New York.

CRH, which is headquartered in Dublin and valued at more than £30bn, said: “We have now come to the conclusion that a US primary listing would bring increased commercial, operational and acquisition opportunities for CRH.”

"While the FTSE 100 enjoyed relative resilience last year partly because of its lack of technology giants, allowing it to avoid the ‘tech-wreck’, this has also long been a criticism of the UK blue chip index which has struggled to attract key behemoths in the sector," said Interactive Investor analyst Victoria Scholar.

"There have also been some high-profile disasters in UK tech with Deliveroo’s IPO flop and THG’s share price slide. Arm’s abandonment of London is another kick in the teeth for the Square Mile’s attractiveness among international investors as a go-to destination for technology giants.”

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com