BBC Local Live: Cambridgeshire on Monday, 18 July 2016

Summary

Updates on Monday, 18 July 2016
News, sport, travel and weather updates resume at 08:00 on Friday

Live Reporting

Mark Williamson

ARM deal shows UK has taken 'wrong turn', says Cambridge MPpublished at 11:29 British Summer Time 18 July 2016
Mark Williamson
BBC Local Live
The proposed sale of ARM Holdings suggests the UK "has taken a wrong turn" following the Brexit vote, says Cambridge MP Daniel Zeichner.
Responding to the announcement the Cambridge technology giant is set to be acquired by Japan's Softbank for £24bn, the Labour MP said "strong guarantees" need to be given about the company's future in the city.
Quote Message
Within weeks of the European referendum we are seeing the sale of the jewel in the UK tech crown, Cambridge's greatest modern success story. Analysts will debate the impact on ARM, but there can be no doubt that Britain is losing control of one of our most innovative and successful companies. The promises and assurances are bold, but the power to decide moves elsewhere, and the government needs to consider how these promises can be guaranteed."
Daniel Zeichner, Cambridge MP, Labour
Right time to invest in UK, says buyer of Cambridge's ARM Holdingspublished at 11:07 British Summer Time 18 July 2016
Mark Williamson
BBC Local Live
The founder of Japanese tech giant Softbank says he agreed to buy Cambridge microchip designer ARM Holdings for £24bn because it is the right time to invest in the UK.
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Masayoshi Son told a news conference in London: "I know a lot of people are concerned about the complicated political situation in the UK and some of my friends have businesses in the UK and they're very afraid.
"Some of them are discussing moving their headquarters out of the UK to relocate to somewhere else. I'm the opposite. I say this is the time to invest with a strong commitment and belief in the future of the UK," he said.
Reaction to proposed sale of ARM Holdingspublished at 11:02 British Summer Time 18 July 2016
Mark Williamson
BBC Local Live
Reaction is coming in to the proposed takeover of Cambridge's ARM Holdings to Japanese tech giant Softbank for £24bn.
Eastern Region Tory MEP Vicky Ford describes the deal as a "huge opportunity"...
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Guardian assistant editor Michael White, external says the takeover is "hugely impressive", but thinks it should have been the other way around...
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Vince Cable worried over ARM Holdings salepublished at 10:45 British Summer Time 18 July 2016
Mark Williamson
BBC Local Live
Former business secretary, Sir Vince Cable, says he is worried about the £24bn deal to sell Cambridge-based ARM Holdings to Japan's Softbank.
Quote Message
I think this is the last of the home-grown British high tech companies that survived. People often ask why don't we have a British Facebook or Google - the reason is they get to a certain size, then they are taken over. I think, secondly, we don't have a system of defence against takeovers if they prove to be unsatisfactory."
Sir Vince Cable, Former business secretary
The government said the deal showed Britain was "open for business - and open to foreign investment".
Cambridge council leader welcomes reassurances over future of ARM Holdings in the citypublished at 10:31 British Summer Time 18 July 2016
Mousumi Bakshi
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire
The Labour leader of Cambridge City Council has welcomed reassurances over the future of ARM Holdings in Cambridge, following the proposed £24bn takeover by Japan's Softbank.
Lewis Herbert has issued a statement saying: "Given the momentous scale of this takeover, it is an important reassurance to staff and our residents that ARM Holdings will continue to operate and have its headquarters in Cambridge."
"While future decisions affecting hundreds of local ARM employees will be taken in Japan as well as the UK, it is also good news that they will preserve the firm’s operating structure, including retaining the Cambridge and wider senior management team."
'There will be sadness in Cambridge' over ARM Holdings dealpublished at 10:24 British Summer Time 18 July 2016
Rory Cellan-Jones
Technology correspondent
It's hard to exaggerate just how important ARM is to the UK tech sector - and the shock many are feeling this morning at the news that it is about to lose its independence.
Its brilliance was to realise that if chips were about to come with everything, you didn't have to make them - designing them was the key.
Five years ago, Cambridge was home to at least three world-beating UK-owned technology firms - ARM, Autonomy and Cambridge Silicon Radio (CSR). Then Autonomy was swallowed up by HP in an ill-fated deal, last year the chipmaker Qualcomm bought CSR, and now the biggest and best, ARM, is about to have a Japanese owner.
In Softbank, ARM may well have found a good parent. The Japanese firm bought France's Aldebaran robotics business and has gone on to give it a global profile. But there will still be sadness this morning in Cambridge, and beyond, that Britain's best hope of building a global technology giant now appears to have gone.
Acquisition of ARM is a big bet on the futurepublished at 10:15 British Summer Time 18 July 2016
Karishma Vaswani
Asia business correspondent
Imagine a future where your fridge, your washing machine, even your hairbrush is a computer.
Everyday appliances all of a sudden transformed into intelligent, thinking and analytical machines.
And then think - how much would you pay to own the technology behind those devices?
That might help to explain why Softbank's eccentric chief executive Masayoshi Son is paying close to a 50% premium for Cambridge's ARM Holdings.
Image source, AFP
ARM doesn't make the chips that will eventually go into some of these devices, but it does design many of the chips used in smartphone devices (Apple and Samsung for instance) and other sensory devices today. ARM makes its money from charging a small royalty on its intellectual property.
It's a big gamble, but then the Japanese technology entrepreneur has always been known to take big risks.
ARM deal 'shows UK open for business'published at 10:10 British Summer Time 18 July 2016
BBC Business News
New UK Chancellor Philip Hammond says Softbank's £24bn takeover of ARM Holdings shows Britain remains attractive to overseas investors post-Brexit.
Image source, Getty Images
Quote Message
Just three weeks after the referendum decision, it shows that Britain has lost none of its allure to international investors. Softbank's decision confirms that Britain remains one of the most attractive destinations globally for investors to create jobs and wealth."
Philip Hammond, Chancellor
ARM chief executive wants jobs promise to be 'legally binding'published at 09:39 British Summer Time 18 July 2016
Dominic O'Connell
Business Presenter, BBC Radio 4 Today programme
I've just had a chat with Simon Segars, chief executive of ARM. He tells me Softbank has pledged to keep ARM's headquarters in Cambridge, and to double the number of jobs in the UK - plus, keep the ARM management team in place.
Now, cynics might say we have heard such assurances before from foreign buyers of British companies. But Segars told me the two companies are in talks with the Takeover Panel, the City watchdog that polices big deals, about making them legally binding. I am struggling to quite see how they would do that, but that is Segar's assurance.
He also told me that this deal happened very quickly - the two companies have known each other for a decade, but the takeover talks started just weeks ago.
Segars also said that the ARM board thought Softbank was the right partner because they would not jeopardise ARM's neutrality. Softbank works for Apple, it works for Samsung, so would not lock ARM into working only with one platform.
ARM Holdings confirms takeover deal by Japan's Softbankpublished at 09:32 British Summer Time 18 July 2016
David Keller
BBC News
ARM Holdings has just confirmed it is to be bought by Japan's Softbank for £24bn ($32bn).
The board of ARM is expected to recommend shareholders accept the offer - which is around a 43% premium on its closing market value of £16.8bn on Friday.
Shares in the technology firm surged by 45% at the open of the London Stock Exchange to 1,742.85p per share, adding £7.56bn to ARM's market value.
ARM said it would keep its headquarters in Cambridge and that it would at least double the number of its staff over the next five years.
Softbank says it will double UK staff at ARM Holdingspublished at 09:00 British Summer Time 18 July 2016
BBC Business News
Japan's Softbank says it will double the number of UK staff at ARM Holdings, following the proposed £24bn takeover deal.
The Cambridge-based microchip designer currently employs 3,000 people.
Image source, SoftBank
Softbank, one of the world's biggest technology companies, considers ARM well-placed to exploit the "internet of things" - the embedding of microchips in whole new categories of household and business devices.
Masayoshi Son (above), chairman of Softbank, said: "This investment also marks our strong commitment to the UK and the competitive advantage provided by the deep pool of science and technology talent in Cambridge.
"As an integral part of the transaction, we intend to at least double the number of employees employed by ARM in the UK over the next five years".
A good day to own shares in ARM Holdingspublished at 08:43 British Summer Time 18 July 2016
Mark Williamson
BBC Local Live
This is a good morning if you own shares in Cambridge tech giant ARM Holdings...
The share price has soared to a record high following the announcement of a £24bn takeover deal being sought by Japan's Softbank.
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Cambridge-based ARM Holdings set to be sold for £24bnpublished at 08:31 British Summer Time 18 July 2016
Mark Williamson
BBC Local Live
Our top story this morning - Cambridge-based ARM Holdings, one of the UK's biggest technology companies, is set to be sold for £24bn.
Image source, ARM Holdings
ARM, which designs microchips for smartphones including Apple's iPhone, was set up in Cambridge in 1990 and now employs more than 3,000 people.
The board of ARM is expected to recommend shareholders accept the offer from Japan's Softbank - one of the world's biggest technology companies.
The BBC understands that Softbank will commit to doubling the size of ARM's UK workforce over the next five years. Barring government intervention, the final decision will be made by shareholders.
Weather: Very warm, sunny and drypublished at 08:13 British Summer Time 18 July 2016
Kate Kinsella
BBC Look East weather
Today will be a fine and dry day with spells of strong sunshine, making it feel very warm across the county - with the highest temperatures towards the west.
Maximum temperature: 28C (82F). Find out more at BBC Weather.
Travel: Multi-vehicle crash on A14 near Cambridgepublished at 08:07 British Summer Time 18 July 2016
BBC Travel
There has been a multi-vehicle crash westbound on the A14 near Cambridge. The carriageway is blocked at junction 31, Girton.
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Welcome to Cambridgeshire Livepublished at 08:00
Mark Williamson
BBC Local Live
We'll be here with live news, sport, weather and travel updates between now and 18:00.
The big news this morning - Cambridge-based ARM Holdings, one of the UK's biggest technology companies, is set to be sold for £24bn.
ARM, which designs microchips for mobile phones including Apple's iPhone, employs more than 3,000 people - we'll bring you more on this morning's announcement shortly.
And it looks like we might be in for a bit of a heatwave - a full weather forecast coming next.
Feel free to contact us with your pictures, stories or comments today. Get in touch via email, Facebook, external or Twitter, external.