'Brexit idiocy' responsible for US Nasdaq listing, says Arm pioneer

Hermann Hauser has said the decision of UK chip maker Arm to sidestep its home market for what is expected to be one of the biggest IPOs of the year is down to Brexit

"Brexit idiocy" is partly to blame for Arm's decision to list on the Nasdaq stock exchange in New York rather than its home market of London, according to Hermann Hauser.

Hauser co-founded Acorn computers, which later span out chip company Arm. He was also involved in the development of the first Arm processor.

Arm officially began the listing process yesterday, for what is expected to be one of the largest IPOs of the year.

Nearly every small electronic device today uses Arm chip designs, from smartphones and wearables to industrial IoT sensors.

Arm's revenue is one of the few bright spots for owner SoftBank, which posted a $23bn net loss last year.

Hauser, a long-time vocal opponent of Brexit, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that it made sense for SoftBank to take Arm to New York, where it aims to raise $10bn and could be valued between $30bn and $70bn.

It would have been difficult to raise this amount of money in the UK, Hauser said, adding, "Softbank really needs the money to further support the growth of Arm."

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, his predecessor Boris Johnson, and numerous government and London Stock Exchange representatives had previously held talks with SoftBank about a potential dual listing in both London and New York. However, Hauser was quick to write off the possibility.

"The problem is, to IPO on two stock exchanges at the same time is an enormous amount of work, so the administrative effort is double.

"The fact is that New York of course is a much deeper market than London, partially because of the Brexit idiocy the image of London has suffered a lot in the international community."

Hauser sold his stake in Arm in 2016, when SoftBank bought the company. He is now a venture capital investor focusing on UK tech firms. Despite his acknowledgement of the rationale behind SoftBank's decision, he believes Arm could return to London - eventually.

"Arm is a UK company, arguably one of the more globally successful technology companies in the UK, and there is a lot of support in the London City for Arm.

"It would make a lot of sense for Arm to at least have a secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange eventually."

This article originally appeared on CRN's sister site, Computing.