SoftBank, owner of Sprint, wants to make further inroads into the "Internet of Things," and it hopes the $32 billion acquisition it just made will help it achieve that end. Per the AP, the Japanese tech company has purchased Britain's ARM Holdings, a firm that designs the microprocessors used in cellphones and digital cameras, among other products—a move the British government sees as positive news in the wake of last month's Brexit vote. Some reaction to the mega-sale:
- The Wall Street Journal marvels how at how such a massive deal—said to be SoftBank's largest investment ever—came together in just two weeks amid a "flurry of negotiations."
- Brexit's been big, but this was no Brexit-based brainstorm, SoftBank's CEO says, per TechCrunch. "I did not make the investment because of Brexit," Masayoshi Son insists. So why did he?
- PC Magazine calls the buy a "terrible, terrible idea"—for phone manufacturers, for ARM, for wireless carriers, and for Sprint.
- What are the implications for Sprint, which Son has described as a "big problem in the past"? Bloomberg takes a closer look.
- No one can deny the British company's reach—ARM-designed chips are everywhere, Recode notes.
- Someone who's not celebrating: ARM's founder, who tells the BBC this is a "sad day."
(Who didn't reap any Brexit benefits:
Serena Williams.)
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