Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the implications for the technological competitiveness of the UK of the proposed takeover of ARM Holdings by the Japanese company Softbank; and if he will make a statement.

The UK remains open for business and we welcome firms that want to invest in growth here. The UK’s technological innovations, skilled workforce and competitive business environment make it one of the world’s best destinations for investment.

ARM Holdings is a highly respected company who have achieved great things: working with the UK’s Takeover Panel, Softbank have published a set of clear and binding undertakings, including that ARM’s global headquarters would remain in Cambridge and that the UK workforce would at least double if the acquisition is finalised. This provides reassurance that ARM would continue to develop leading-edge technology in the UK as part of the UK technology industry.