This means Arm’s valuation has more than doubled in less than five months to $130 billion, with Japanese investment giant SoftBank still holding a 90% stake and the $320 million it paid for the company in 2016. You’re sitting on a paper profit of four times billions of dollars.
The story surrounding Arm is important because it is likely to have a significant impact on the future of the UK stock market and the city as a whole.
Some senior fund managers believe that the stock market will come to an end within the next decade.
It seems a little premature to me, but the enthusiasm that greeted Mr. Arm’s arrival in New York certainly risks worsening London’s image as a place to avoid or escape from.
At the same time, it reinforces the idea that America, which values success more than Britain, is the place to be. We could never have imagined that Arm or any other company would receive a similar reception here. Of course, in the current atmosphere of despair and general apathy. Arm’s board will already feel completely vindicated.
Britain has never before matched the general enthusiasm that seems to arise so naturally in American companies. It’s just not in our bloodline. But the doom and gloom about the future of this country and city seems more pronounced than ever. Even after the financial crisis, people maintained a quiet atmosphere of optimism that they could recover from a major crisis.
At the very least, there is a worrying air of resignation about London’s declining status as one of the world’s leading financial capitals, as if it will never be able to compete with New York again. But it is self-defeating and risks becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. European cities such as Paris and Frankfurt are already following London’s lead, but they need to be aware of the threat from Tokyo and Hong Kong, as well as Shanghai and Mumbai.