LONDON (Reuters) - Japan's SoftBank (>> SoftBank Group Corp) said it was willing to do the $32 billion (£24.3 billion) deal to buy Britain's ARM Holdings (>> ARM Holdings plc) because it believes it is close to turning around another major acquisition, the U.S. mobile operator Sprint (>> Sprint Corp).

SoftBank Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son told a news conference on Monday that he had enough confidence that Sprint was turning around after several years where the business has struggled.

Loss-making U.S. carrier Sprint has been a major headache for SoftBank, which bought a majority stake in 2013.

He also said he made the approach after Britain voted to leave the EU and that the subsequent fall in sterling had not been a major factor.

"Brexit didn't affect my decision... I would have made this decision, at this time, with or without Brexit," he said.

(Reporting by Costas Pitas and Jemima Kelly; writing by Kate Holton; editing by Paul Sandle)

Stocks treated in this article : ARM Holdings plc, SoftBank Group Corp, Sprint Corp
Stocks treated in this article : ARM Holdings plc, SoftBank Group Corp, Sprint Corp