Arm to Keep IoT Data Unit, Canceling Transfer to Softbank

(Bloomberg) -- Arm Ltd. said it will keep its IoT Platform and Data units as independent businesses, canceling a previous plan to spin off the units to Softbank Group Corp.

“After further diligence, we have determined that both IoTP and Data can realize the same benefits as independent operating businesses, each with their own P&L, under the Arm Limited umbrella with less operational disruption,” the Cambridge, U.K.-based company said in a statement Monday. “We will share more details once the proposed transfer of the businesses has been completed.”

The Internet of Things group was a key Arm initiative to expand into managing information generated by millions of new devices being connected to the internet. That business is secondary to Arm’s main work: developing chip designs and licensing the fundamentals of semiconductors for smartphones and other mobile devices.

Arm previously said it planned to transfer the IoT and Data units to Softbank so it could focus on its main chip business.

Softbank founder Masayoshi Son bought Arm in 2016 for $32 billion and at the time he said the U.K. company’s technology had potential to grow as connectivity expands beyond smartphones to become part of most electronics.

Arm is up for sale, Bloomberg News has reported. Nvidia, which makes graphics and data-center chips, is in talks to acquire the chip design firm.

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