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ARM gets about a fifth of its $1.4 billion annual revenues from China.
Under the deal the 51% share will be owned by a consortium led by the Hou An Innovation Fund which is jointly managed by ARM and Hopu Investments with Hou An the controlling shareholder.
Hou An’s backers include China Investment Corporation, Silk Road Fund, Temasek Holdings, Shum Yip Group and Hopu.
According to Rene Haas, president of Arm’s IP products group, the plan is to IPO the unit on a Chinese stock market.
A quarter of ARM has already been transferred to Softbank’s Vision Fund for a reputed $8 billion.
Softbank execs have said they may IPO the remainder of their ARM holding while the Vision Fund may also IPO its 25% stake in Arm as an exit option.
Arm has been unprofitable for the last three quarters under Softbank control. Partly this is due to Softbank’s undertaking to increase ARM’s headcount.
