Nvidia to Scrap $40-Billion Acquisition of Arm After Objections From Regulators: Report

US regulators filed a lawsuit last year seeking to block the merger, while British and European regulators had ordered probes into the deal.

By Agence France-Presse | Updated: 8 February 2022 09:47 IST

Nvidia to Scrap $40-Billion Acquisition of Arm After Objections From Regulators: Report

Nvidia saw sales soar during COVID-19 lockdowns as gaming exploded in popularity

Highlights

Japan's SoftBank Group announced in 2020 that it was selling Arm
The value of the cash-and-shares deal has risen since
Nvidia is one of the world's largest, most valuable computing companies

US firm Nvidia is scrapping its $40 billion (roughly Rs. 2,98,600 crore) bid to buy UK mobile chip technology powerhouse Arm from SoftBank after persistent objections from regulators, the Financial Times reported Tuesday.

Nvidia and SoftBank Group both declined to comment on the report, which cited three unnamed sources with direct knowledge of the deal.

But the collapse would be no surprise, after recent speculation that the deal was on the verge of failure following pressure from US, UK, and EU regulators concerned it would undermine competition.

Samsung Wins Patent for a Tri-Fold Smartphone With Specialised Barrier Layer for Improved Durability

In December, US regulators filed a lawsuit seeking to block the merger, while British and European regulators had ordered probes into the deal.

Japan's SoftBank Group announced in 2020 that it was selling Arm for up to $40 billion (roughly Rs. 2,98,600 crore) in a deal it hoped to complete in early 2022, subject to regulatory approvals.

The value of the cash-and-shares deal has risen since as stock markets have rallied, with Nvidia's shares soaring.

AMD's $35-Billion Deal for Xilinx Now Expected to Close in 2022

The California-based firm is one of the world's largest and most valuable computing companies, while Arm creates and licenses microprocessor designs and architectures.

Nvidia, known for graphics cards favoured in the video game industry, saw sales soar during COVID-19 lockdowns as gaming exploded in popularity.

When the merger plan was announced, Nvidia said it would accelerate innovation and "create the premier computing company for the age of artificial intelligence."

Founded in 1990, Arm dominates the global smartphone market and its technology has been used in more than 180 billion chips shipped worldwide.

It is also present in cloud computing and the Internet of things.

SoftBank had purchased Arm in 2016 for $32 billion (roughly Rs. 238,790 crore), and now hopes to offload the firm through an initial public offering, the Financial Times reported.

SoftBank would prefer to list the company in New York but could face British pressure for a listing in London.

The deal's collapse also prompted Arm's chief executive to step aside, the FT said.

SoftBank is set to report its earnings in Tokyo later on Tuesday.

Are Oppo's new flagship phones any good? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.