Arm and Softbank move to oust renegade China boss
Arm and its owner Softbank are readying a move to regain control of the firm’s renegade China division and oust its boss, as Softbank prepares to float the British chipmaker this year.
Arm China’s boss Allen Wu was sacked in 2020 but he has refused to leave and relinquish the firm’s ‘chop’ – the official company seal used for registration documents – which allows him to continue to run the firm and ignore directors.
The board has now got the backing of authorities and is in possession of documents which will allow it to have a new company stamp issued within days, Bloomberg reported.
Wu’s refusal to step down from the firm has been a speed bump for Softbank boss Masayoshi Son as he looks to float Arm, following the collapse of a takeover deal by US rival Nvidia earlier this year.
Arm and Softbank have reportedly made progress to regain control after agreeing to shift a chunk of its ownership to Arm’s parent company, Bloomberg reported.
The Chinese government reportedly viewed the impasse with Wu as a means of drawing concessions from Arm, which ministers in the UK regard as a strategically important asset in the UK.
Ministers have been looking to woo Arm into a London listing but Softbank is said to favour New York.