ARM is about to be sold to a Japanese company: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36822806 As a Brit, it saddens me to see a British success story sold into foreign hands, but my real concern is about what the future might bring several years down the road. Questions currently going through my mind include whether ARM will still be able to perform R&D at their current rate and whether ARM's engineers will be outsourced in the future and replaced with lower quality staff. I know the new owners are promising a major new resource investment but promises and eventual reality are not always the same thing if the investment ends up being badly mismanaged. I've got no direct reason to suspect it will be mismanaged, but I have some general unease about possible issues around the cultural compatibility of ARM with a foreign investor. Simon. -- Simon Clubley, clubley@remove_me.eisner.decus.org-Earth.UFP Microsoft: Bringing you 1980s technology to a 21st century world
ARM about to be sold
Started by ●July 18, 2016
Reply by ●July 18, 20162016-07-18
On 7/18/2016 8:15 AM, Simon Clubley wrote:> ARM is about to be sold to a Japanese company: > > http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36822806 > > As a Brit, it saddens me to see a British success story sold into foreign > hands, but my real concern is about what the future might bring several > years down the road.I read they expect to double the UK workforce, so not all bad.> Questions currently going through my mind include whether ARM will > still be able to perform R&D at their current rate and whether ARM's > engineers will be outsourced in the future and replaced with lower > quality staff.I doubt it. Would you pay billions for a working company and then mess it up? Anyone who can raise billions is not stupid.> I know the new owners are promising a major new resource investment but > promises and eventual reality are not always the same thing if the > investment ends up being badly mismanaged. I've got no direct reason > to suspect it will be mismanaged, but I have some general unease about > possible issues around the cultural compatibility of ARM with a foreign > investor.What makes you think they will get into the management at all rather than just taking the profits and saying "thank you"? I think ARM is too big a force for an owner to mess up. The customers are huge and have a lot of throw weight. -- Rick C
Reply by ●July 18, 20162016-07-18
Simon Clubley <clubley@remove_me.eisner.decus.org-Earth.UFP> writes:> ARM is about to be sold to a Japanese company: > http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36822806There is some informative discussion here, though it's a day old by now: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12112850
Reply by ●July 18, 20162016-07-18
rickman wrote:> On 7/18/2016 8:15 AM, Simon Clubley wrote: > >> Questions currently going through my mind include whether ARM will >> still be able to perform R&D at their current rate and whether ARM's >> engineers will be outsourced in the future and replaced with lower >> quality staff. > > I doubt it. Would you pay billions for a working company and then mess > it up? Anyone who can raise billions is not stupid. >Oh, for a world in which that statement were true. -- Rob Gaddi, Highland Technology -- www.highlandtechnology.com Email address domain is currently out of order. See above to fix.
Reply by ●July 18, 20162016-07-18
"Rob Gaddi" <rgaddi@highlandtechnology.invalid> wrote in message news:nmj10n$mst$1@dont-email.me...> rickman wrote: > >> On 7/18/2016 8:15 AM, Simon Clubley wrote: >> >>> Questions currently going through my mind include whether ARM will >>> still be able to perform R&D at their current rate and whether ARM's >>> engineers will be outsourced in the future and replaced with lower >>> quality staff. >> >> I doubt it. Would you pay billions for a working company and then mess >> it up? Anyone who can raise billions is not stupid. >> > > Oh, for a world in which that statement were true.Time Warner anyone :-) tim
Reply by ●July 18, 20162016-07-18
On 18/07/2016 16:01, rickman wrote:> On 7/18/2016 8:15 AM, Simon Clubley wrote: >> ARM is about to be sold to a Japanese company: >> >> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36822806 >> >> As a Brit, it saddens me to see a British success story sold into foreign >> hands, but my real concern is about what the future might bring several >> years down the road. > > I read they expect to double the UK workforce, so not all bad. > > >> Questions currently going through my mind include whether ARM will >> still be able to perform R&D at their current rate and whether ARM's >> engineers will be outsourced in the future and replaced with lower >> quality staff. > > I doubt it. Would you pay billions for a working company and then mess > it up? Anyone who can raise billions is not stupid.Ask Microsoft. How much did they pay for Nokia and Skype? Lets see what happens with LinkedIn! -- Mike Perkins Video Solutions Ltd www.videosolutions.ltd.uk
Reply by ●July 18, 20162016-07-18
rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com> wrote:> On 7/18/2016 8:15 AM, Simon Clubley wrote: >> Questions currently going through my mind include whether ARM will >> still be able to perform R&D at their current rate and whether ARM's >> engineers will be outsourced in the future and replaced with lower >> quality staff. > > I doubt it. Would you pay billions for a working company and then mess > it up? Anyone who can raise billions is not stupid.Intelligence will not necessarily save them when market forces are at work. In a contest between logic and money always bet on the money.> I think ARM is too big a force for an owner to mess up. The customers > are huge and have a lot of throw weight.This is what I would have said about DEC some decades ago! -- Nils M Holm < n m h @ t 3 x . o r g > www.t3x.org
Reply by ●July 18, 20162016-07-18
On 7/18/2016 3:10 PM, Nils M Holm wrote:> rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com> wrote: >> On 7/18/2016 8:15 AM, Simon Clubley wrote: >>> Questions currently going through my mind include whether ARM will >>> still be able to perform R&D at their current rate and whether ARM's >>> engineers will be outsourced in the future and replaced with lower >>> quality staff. >> >> I doubt it. Would you pay billions for a working company and then mess >> it up? Anyone who can raise billions is not stupid. > > Intelligence will not necessarily save them when market forces are > at work. In a contest between logic and money always bet on the money.There is no such contest.>> I think ARM is too big a force for an owner to mess up. The customers >> are huge and have a lot of throw weight. > > This is what I would have said about DEC some decades ago!DEC was selling future dinosaurs. They simply didn't adapt to the times. ARM *is* the future which Intel needs to adapt to. -- Rick C
Reply by ●July 19, 20162016-07-19
On Mon, 18 Jul 2016 11:01:40 -0400, rickman wrote:> On 7/18/2016 8:15 AM, Simon Clubley wrote: >> ARM is about to be sold to a Japanese company: >> >> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36822806 >> >> As a Brit, it saddens me to see a British success story sold into >> foreign hands, but my real concern is about what the future might bring >> several years down the road. > > I read they expect to double the UK workforce, so not all bad. > > >> Questions currently going through my mind include whether ARM will >> still be able to perform R&D at their current rate and whether ARM's >> engineers will be outsourced in the future and replaced with lower >> quality staff. > > I doubt it. Would you pay billions for a working company and then mess > it up? Anyone who can raise billions is not stupid.History disagrees with you. Sometimes these things work out splendidly, sometimes they work horribly. Usually the people who make the initial deal make out like bandits ('cuz they're not stupid), but often the companies involved go down the tubes, leaving stockholders holding an empty bag. -- Tim Wescott Wescott Design Services http://www.wescottdesign.com I'm looking for work -- see my website!
Reply by ●July 19, 20162016-07-19
On 7/18/2016 11:50 PM, Tim Wescott wrote:> On Mon, 18 Jul 2016 11:01:40 -0400, rickman wrote: > >> On 7/18/2016 8:15 AM, Simon Clubley wrote: >>> ARM is about to be sold to a Japanese company: >>> >>> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36822806 >>> >>> As a Brit, it saddens me to see a British success story sold into >>> foreign hands, but my real concern is about what the future might bring >>> several years down the road. >> >> I read they expect to double the UK workforce, so not all bad. >> >> >>> Questions currently going through my mind include whether ARM will >>> still be able to perform R&D at their current rate and whether ARM's >>> engineers will be outsourced in the future and replaced with lower >>> quality staff. >> >> I doubt it. Would you pay billions for a working company and then mess >> it up? Anyone who can raise billions is not stupid. > > History disagrees with you. Sometimes these things work out splendidly, > sometimes they work horribly. Usually the people who make the initial > deal make out like bandits ('cuz they're not stupid), but often the > companies involved go down the tubes, leaving stockholders holding an > empty bag.Your logic is very poor. History says things can go bad, but that is no contradiction to what I said. -- Rick C