SoftBank is set to buy ARM for $32 billion, report says

Japanese telecoms conglomerate SoftBank is ready to buy British chip giant ARM for a cool 24.3 billion pounds ($31.8 billion).

The Financial Times reported the news in the early hours of Monday, citing two people close to the negotiations.

If it goes through, the deal will be the largest ever acquisition of a European tech company, noted the FT.

The deal will value ARM, which boasts 4,000 employees, at a 43 percent premium above its closing price last week. ARM's market cap stood at 16.7 billion pounds ($22 billion) on Friday.

ARM's processors have been known for their low power consumption, allowing them to become a force in the mobile industry. ARM's chip designs go into products such as Apple's iPhones and Apple Watches.

Unlike other competitors such as Intel, which manufactures its chips, ARM licenses its technology to other companies.

SoftBank, one of Japan's largest companies, is worth about 7.2 trillion yen ($68 billion) and employs over 69,000 people.

It counts among its vast properties American telecoms company Sprint, and Yahoo Japan, which it set up together with Yahoo in 1996.

Softbank has been aggressively investing in mobile software companies in recent years, from Clash of Clans developer Supercell to Uber rivals Didi Chuxing in China and Ola in India.

Just last month, SoftBank's president Nikesh Arora stepped down, as 58-year-old founder Masayoshi Son announced that he would stay on as CEO for at least another five years. The role was expected to be passed to Arora, who left one as one of the highest paid executives in the world.

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