SoftBank Group taps Arm CEO as board member

SoftBank Group Corp. has nominated Rene Haas, CEO of British semiconductor firm Arm, to be a member of its board of directors.

In an announcement, the Japanese company said it would elect Haas at its shareholders’ meeting on June 21, replacing Kentaro Kawabe, who is the chairperson and representative director of Z Holdings. Meanwhile, the other eight board members will continue their roles in the company.

SoftBank acquired Arm for US$32 billion in 2016. The semiconductor company is planning to launch an IPO in the US this year, with a reported target of US$8 billion minimum.

SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son was hoping that Arm would pull off the biggest IPO for a chipmaker, counting on it to offset falling valuations in the Japanese investor’s tech portfolios, according to a Bloomberg report.

Earlier this month, it was announced that SoftBank Ventures Asia was set to be acquired by The Edgeof, a Singapore-based VC firm.

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