Invest in my personal fund and get a discount on Arm’s cutting edge chip technology: that was the offer allegedly made by China boss Allen Wu to some of his customers.
That conflict of interest is one of several accusations that have been levelled at Mr Wu, the chief executive of Arm China, as he battles SoftBank and the powerful Chinese private equity firm Hopu for control of the valuable unit.
After several months of quiet negotiations, the tensions burst into public view earlier this month, after Arm, the UK chip designer that SoftBank bought for £24.3bn in 2016, announced it had ousted Mr Wu, alleging “serious irregularities” and “conflicts of interest”.
But Mr Wu has refused to budge. He remains the company’s legal representative and is in possession of the company seal, giving him control under a centuries-old Chinese system. SoftBank and Hopu face a long legal quagmire to prise him out, having failed to persuade him to leave peacefully.
“He (Mr Wu) knows he will eventually be removed. But this is his weapon to get a separation agreement,” said one lawyer with close links to Arm China.
But others close to Hopu and SoftBank suggested the time for negotiation has passed. “The opportunity is absolutely gone. He chose not to settle when he could have,” one of the people said.