The soap opera between ARM and the rebellious CEO of its Chinese subsidiary, which he has been trying to expel from the company since 2020, seems to have come to an end. According to Reuters, ARM may have gotten rid of himafter having presented the necessary documentation to do so before the Chinese authorities, and that they accept the changes.
The company’s recovery appears to have come within days, as there was no news of this latest move from ARM until the middle of last week. Last Wednesday it was made public that ARM had gone to court to get the country’s authorities to issue both new registration documentation for the subsidiary and a new seal for it. Allen Wuwhich is the name of the CEO of ARM China and who had been holding on to his position for two years after the parent company decided to fire him in mid-2020, had repeatedly refused the delivery of these two symbols of current ownership for Chinese companies.
So, from ARM they were not very convinced that they could achieve their goal this time, since they have already failed on previous occasions in which they have tried to retake control of the company in China mp have been successful. But it seems that this time it was different. When everything seemed to be going in Wu’s favor again, his plans have gone awry.
Wu has alleged that there were flaws in the business registration process for which he requested new documentation and a new seal. Furthermore, he had posted a statement on ARM’s WeChat page. Apparently, this statement, in the form of a letter, was signed by 430 workers from the ARM China workforce, which assured that the organization would continue with Wu as leader even if the courts issued the new seals and the new document.
However, an ARM spokesman stressed that China’s laws had been followed to the millimeter, and the Chinese authorities have granted them a new seal and a new business license in Shenzen. Thus, according to this spokesman, «the relevant agency in Shenzen has registered Dr Liu as the legal and responsible representative of the company, and issued a new company license and seal in Dr Liu’s name«.
Renchen Liuwhich therefore now becomes one of the new CEOs of ARM China, with Eric Chen, is Vice Dean of the Research Institute of Tsinghua University in Shenzen. For his part, Eric Chen is a director of SoftBank’s Vision fund. Does this mean that Wu’s attempts to continue in his position are over? Most likely not, but obtaining this documentation is a very important step for ARM and its owner, Softbank, to recover the company’s Chinese subsidiary.
In fact, the issuance of this documentation has been a significant relief for ARM and SoftBank’s plans to take the company public, since from now on the Chinese subsidiary should work together with the parent company and provide it with the documentation and the support you need to make your debut successfully on the trading floors.
