軟銀擬將Arm 25%股份注入沙特支持基金

Japan’s SoftBank is set to sell a roughly $8bn stake in Arm, the chip designer it bought only six months ago, placing 25 per cent of Britain’s largest technology company into a new, Saudi-backed $100bn investment fund.

日本軟銀(SoftBank)計(jì)劃出售其僅僅半年前收購的芯片設(shè)計(jì)公司Arm約80億美元的股份，將這家英國最大科技公司25%的股份注入一只新成立的、有沙特支持的1000億美元投資基金。

The decision was made as the SoftBank-led fund tries to hit its fundraising goals and secure the backing of Mubadala, the Abu Dhabi state-backed investment group, which wanted the fund to own a portion of Arm, said two people close to the situation.

兩位知情人士表示，軟銀之所以決定出售Arm，是因?yàn)槠錉款^的上述基金正努力實(shí)現(xiàn)籌資目標(biāo)，并爭取到阿布扎比政府投資機(jī)構(gòu)Mubadala的支持，后者希望該基金持有Arm的部分股份。

The two sides are closing in on an agreement that would see Mubadala commit $15bn to the fund, these people said, and help the Japanese company get closer to its stated $100bn target for the SoftBank Vision Fund.

這兩人說，雙方即將達(dá)成協(xié)議。按照協(xié)議規(guī)定，Mubadala承諾向軟銀愿景基金(SoftBank Vision Fund)注資150億美元，幫助軟銀更接近其宣稱的1000億美元的籌資目標(biāo)。

The transaction would be the first significant move by the Vision Fund, which is intended to give Masayoshi Son, the billionaire who made SoftBank into a global internet and telecoms powerhouse, the firepower to pursue his blend of investing on behalf of his company and a small group of outside backers.

該交易將是軟銀愿景基金的首個(gè)重大舉措。成立該基金的宗旨是讓孫正義(Masayoshi Son)——將軟銀打造成一家全球互聯(lián)網(wǎng)和電信巨擘的億萬富翁——擁有代表其公司和一小部分外部支持者追逐其投資目標(biāo)所需的資金。

The biggest investor in the Vision Fund is Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which said last year it would contribute up to $45bn after talks between Mr Son and Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi deputy crown prince.

軟銀愿景基金的最大投資者是沙特的公共投資基金(Public Investment Fund)，后者去年在孫正義和沙特副王儲(chǔ)穆罕默德•本•薩勒曼(Mohammed bin Salman)商談后表示，將至多投資450億美元。

SoftBank is putting about $25bn into the fund — though a portion will be covered by the Arm stake. Others planning to invest at a smaller scale include Apple, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, and Foxconn, the electronics group.

軟銀將向軟銀愿景基金注資約250億美元，不過其中一部分將是Arm股權(quán)。其他計(jì)劃以較小規(guī)模注資的投資方包括蘋果(Apple)、甲骨文(Oracle)創(chuàng)始人拉里•埃里森(Larry Ellison)以及電子產(chǎn)品集團(tuán)富士康(Foxconn)。

The British government was notified of SoftBank’s intentions but is understood to have raised no concerns. Downing Street and SoftBank declined to comment. Mubadala said: “We’re having ongoing, fruitful discussions over our participation in the fund.”

英國政府接到了軟銀售股計(jì)劃的通知，但據(jù)悉沒有提出任何疑慮。唐寧街和軟銀拒絕置評(píng)。Mubadala稱：“我們正就我們參與該基金展開持續(xù)且富有成效的討論。”

SoftBank agreed to buy Arm for $32.4bn in July 2016, weeks after the UK voted to leave the EU. The transaction was announced days after Theresa May replaced David Cameron as UK prime minister. Mrs May spoke to SoftBank before completion of the Arm deal. Downing Street said at the time: “This is clearly a vote of confidence in Britain.”

2016年7月，軟銀同意斥資324億美元收購Arm，幾周前，英國投票脫離歐盟。這筆交易是在特里薩•梅(Theresa May)取代戴維•卡梅倫 (David Cameron)成為英國首相幾天后宣布的。梅曾在軟銀收購Arm交易完成前與軟銀談話。當(dāng)時(shí)唐寧街表示：“這顯然是對(duì)英國投下的一張信心票。”

Some questioned whether the UK was selling cheaply its tech crown jewels to a foreign investor. Arm founder Hermann Hauser said the deal was a “sad and unintended consequence” of Brexit.

一些人質(zhì)疑英國是否把該國的科技桂冠賤賣給了外國投資者。Arm創(chuàng)始人赫爾曼•豪澤(Hermann Hauser)表示，這筆交易是英國退歐的“一個(gè)令人悲哀且意外的后果”。