The UK government has debated the use of national security legislation as a means to convince SoftBank to list Arm in London, as the Japanese investor reconsiders holding an IPO for the chip designer exclusively in the US.
Two people familiar with internal government discussions said it had weighed applying the UK’s new National Security and Investment Act, but has not formally done so. Some government officials have pushed back against the idea of invoking the law, believing it would not be applicable as the proposed listing was not considered an acquisition.
Government officials said they had preferred attempts at persuasion. Lord Gerry Grimstone, Britain’s investment minister, has met with Rajeev Misra, head of SoftBank’s $100bn Vision Fund, according to people briefed on the efforts, while Prime Minister Boris Johnson sent a letter to SoftBank executives.