Arm staff to enjoy $2.5bn windfall from flotation
James Titcomb
Fri, 25 August 2023
Arm's chief executive, Rene Haas, is expected to received a $20m cash award and a further $20m as a result of the listing
- David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
Employees at the British semiconductor giant Arm are braced for a $2.5bn (£2bn) windfall from the company’s New York flotation as lucrative share awards are unlocked.
Staff have millions of restricted share units – compensation that converts to shares over time – according to company documents.
It translates to an average reward of more than $400,000 for Arm’s 5,963 employees, although the figures include executives who are each likely to secure millions as well as former workers.
Arm, the Cambridge-based company whose microchip designs feature in 99pc of the world’s smartphones as well as countless other devices, filed for a Nasdaq flotation last week.
At a rumoured $70bn valuation it is likely to be the biggest float in two years and is being seen as a catalyst for a moribund tech market.
Arm’s listing document outlines 38.7m in restricted stock units (RSUs) under various employee schemes, which the company says it expects to settle in shares.
This represents between 3pc and 4pc of Arm’s existing shares, or around $2.5bn at a $70bn valuation. Many of the shares will be subject to a 180-day lock-up period, preventing staff from selling until months after the flotation.
Arm paid staff around $298m in cash this year related to earlier share awards.
Staff were expected to receive $1.5bn under a $40bn takeover from the Silicon Valley microchip company Nvidia announced in 2020.
The company abandoned the deal last year under pressure from regulators, leading Arm to pursue a floatation.
Almost half of Arm’s 5,963 employees are based in the UK. Numbers have fallen after the company made 436 staff redundant last year.
Staff who lost their jobs were offered the chance to keep hold of their shares or take a cash payment at a valuation likely to be significantly lower than the company’s floatation price.
Rene Haas, Arm’s chief executive, is receiving a $20m cash award and a further $20m in shares as a result of the flotation, while two other executives will receive a combined $35m.
Last week, Arm’s Japanese owner SoftBank bought the 25pc stake in Arm it did not already own from the separate SoftBank Vision Fund at a price that gives Arm a valuation of $64bn.
Bankers are expected to embark on an investor roadshow in the next few weeks with the flotation’s value confirmed next month.
Employees at the British semiconductor giant Arm are braced for a $2.5bn (£2bn) windfall from the company’s New York flotation as lucrative share awards are unlocked.
Staff have millions of restricted share units – compensation that converts to shares over time – according to company documents.
It translates to an average reward of more than $400,000 for Arm’s 5,963 employees, although the figures include executives who are each likely to secure millions as well as former workers.
Arm, the Cambridge-based company whose microchip designs feature in 99pc of the world’s smartphones as well as countless other devices, filed for a Nasdaq flotation last week.
At a rumoured $70bn valuation it is likely to be the biggest float in two years and is being seen as a catalyst for a moribund tech market.
Arm’s listing document outlines 38.7m in restricted stock units (RSUs) under various employee schemes, which the company says it expects to settle in shares.
This represents between 3pc and 4pc of Arm’s existing shares, or around $2.5bn at a $70bn valuation. Many of the shares will be subject to a 180-day lock-up period, preventing staff from selling until months after the flotation.
Arm paid staff around $298m in cash this year related to earlier share awards.
Staff were expected to receive $1.5bn under a $40bn takeover from the Silicon Valley microchip company Nvidia announced in 2020.
The company abandoned the deal last year under pressure from regulators, leading Arm to pursue a floatation.
Almost half of Arm’s 5,963 employees are based in the UK. Numbers have fallen after the company made 436 staff redundant last year.
Staff who lost their jobs were offered the chance to keep hold of their shares or take a cash payment at a valuation likely to be significantly lower than the company’s floatation price.
Rene Haas, Arm’s chief executive, is receiving a $20m cash award and a further $20m in shares as a result of the flotation, while two other executives will receive a combined $35m.
Last week, Arm’s Japanese owner SoftBank bought the 25pc stake in Arm it did not already own from the separate SoftBank Vision Fund at a price that gives Arm a valuation of $64bn.
Bankers are expected to embark on an investor roadshow in the next few weeks with the flotation’s value confirmed next month.
Elliott Management paid UK staff average of £1.3m each in 2022
Kalyeena Makortoff Banking correspondent
Thu, 24 August 2023
Photograph: Mike Blake/Reuters
The US hedge fund and notorious activist investor Elliott Management paid its 124 UK staff a combined £160m last year, after a 10% rise in annual profits.
The pay pot is higher than the £137m shared by employees the previous year, and comes after its UK operation, Elliott Advisors UK, reported pre-tax profits up by a tenth to £10m. Turnover for the firm, which made headlines after throwing its hat into the ring to buy Manchester United earlier this year, rose 16% to £225m.
Elliott, which is the world’s largest activist hedge fund and is led by the billionaire Republican party donor Paul Singer, is best known for its aggressive corporate and political battles, famously chasing the Argentinian government for debts for more than decade.
Over the past 18 months, the group not only entered into talks to buy a Premier League team, but also took a multibillion-dollar stake in Salesforce, the owner of the Slack messenger platform. It also launched a lawsuit against the London Metal Exchange (LME) over its its controversial decision to cancel nickel trades after a rise in prices linked to the invasion of Ukraine.
Elliott has alleged that the decision may have violated its human rights. The LME previously said it believed Elliott’s claim was without merit and would “contest it vigorously”.
Filings at Companies House show the average payout per UK staff member held steady at £1.3m in 2022, after the firm increased its headcount from 106 to 124 last year.
Elliott’s three top directors shared a smaller pot last year, worth around £10.4m, compared with £12.8m in 2021. One of the unnamed trio took the bulk of the payout, earning around £8.9m. That was lower than the top payout of £11.5m in 2021.
Elliott declined to comment.
Kalyeena Makortoff Banking correspondent
Thu, 24 August 2023
Photograph: Mike Blake/Reuters
The US hedge fund and notorious activist investor Elliott Management paid its 124 UK staff a combined £160m last year, after a 10% rise in annual profits.
The pay pot is higher than the £137m shared by employees the previous year, and comes after its UK operation, Elliott Advisors UK, reported pre-tax profits up by a tenth to £10m. Turnover for the firm, which made headlines after throwing its hat into the ring to buy Manchester United earlier this year, rose 16% to £225m.
Elliott, which is the world’s largest activist hedge fund and is led by the billionaire Republican party donor Paul Singer, is best known for its aggressive corporate and political battles, famously chasing the Argentinian government for debts for more than decade.
Over the past 18 months, the group not only entered into talks to buy a Premier League team, but also took a multibillion-dollar stake in Salesforce, the owner of the Slack messenger platform. It also launched a lawsuit against the London Metal Exchange (LME) over its its controversial decision to cancel nickel trades after a rise in prices linked to the invasion of Ukraine.
Elliott has alleged that the decision may have violated its human rights. The LME previously said it believed Elliott’s claim was without merit and would “contest it vigorously”.
Filings at Companies House show the average payout per UK staff member held steady at £1.3m in 2022, after the firm increased its headcount from 106 to 124 last year.
Elliott’s three top directors shared a smaller pot last year, worth around £10.4m, compared with £12.8m in 2021. One of the unnamed trio took the bulk of the payout, earning around £8.9m. That was lower than the top payout of £11.5m in 2021.
Elliott declined to comment.
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