Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Is chip giant Nvidia going to scrap its $40BN bid for Arm?

Is chip giant Nvidia going to scrap its $40BN bid for Arm?

Nvidia’s proposed purchase of Arm Inc has drawn a fierce backlash from regulators and the chip industry.

Nvidia Corp. is quietly preparing to abandon its purchase of Arm Ltd. from SoftBank Group Corp. after making little to no progress in winning approval for the $40 billion chip deal, according to people familiar with the matter.

Nvidia has told partners that it doesn’t expect the transaction to close, according to one person, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. SoftBank, meanwhile, is stepping up preparations for an Arm initial public offering as an alternative to the Nvidia takeover, another person said.

The purchase – poised to become the biggest semiconductor deal in history when it was announced in September 2020 – has drawn a fierce backlash from regulators and the chip industry, including Arm’s own customers. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission sued to stop the transaction in December, arguing that Nvidia would become too powerful if it gained control over Arm’s chip designs.

The acquisition also faces resistance in China, where authorities are inclined to block the takeover if it wins approvals elsewhere, according to one person. But they don’t expect it to get that far.

Both Nvidia and Arm’s leadership are still pleading their case to regulators, according to the people, and no final decisions have been made. And through it all, the companies have publicly maintained their commitment to the purchase.

“We continue to hold the views expressed in detail in our latest regulatory filings – that this transaction provides an opportunity to accelerate Arm and boost competition and innovation,” Nvidia spokesman Bob Sherbin said.

“We remain hopeful that the transaction will be approved,” a SoftBank spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

Shares in Nvidia fell as much as 5.6% in New York on Tuesday. SoftBank’s U.S. depository shares fell 4.8%.


If Nvidia manages to get the deal over the line, it would be a massive coup for Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang, who has built a graphics-card business into a chipmaking empire. Already, he’s sitting atop the most valuable U.S. company in the semiconductor industry, with a market capitalization of more than half a trillion dollars.

But it will be an uphill fight. Qualcomm Inc. pulled the plug on its $44 billion takeover of NXP Semiconductors NV in 2018 after nearly two years of regulatory hurdles.

The sale of Arm is under heavy scrutiny because its chip designs are used in everything from phones to cars to factory equipment, making neutrality the foundation of its business model. The world’s biggest tech companies rely on Arm technology, and they fear they could lose unfettered access under Nvidia.

Tech giants have lined up against the takeover. A group that includes Qualcomm, Microsoft Corp., Intel Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. have provided regulators around the world with what they believe is enough ammunition to kill the deal, according to people familiar with the process. In addition to needing approval in the U.S. and China, the Arm purchase needs clearance from the European Union and the U.K., both of which are studying the deal closely.

The ordeal has created divisions within Nvidia. Some people at the company are resigned to the acquisition’s defeat, but others think management could use the FTC trial to demonstrate the merits of the transaction.

Within SoftBank, there are factions that want to let the process play out – especially since a gain in Nvidia’s stock price has made the transaction more valuable. Even after a recent tumble, Nvidia shares have nearly doubled since the Arm deal was announced. That’s added tens of billions of dollars to the initial $40 billion price tag.

Others at SoftBank would prefer to pursue an IPO for Arm sooner, while the chip industry is still considered attractive to investors. Already, concerns about a slowdown are growing.

The initial agreement between Nvidia and SoftBank expires Sept. 13 – two years after it was forged – but will automatically renew if approvals take longer. Nvidia said at the outset that closing the transaction would take “approximately 18 months.” That timeline would suggest completion around March of this year — something that’s no longer likely.

The FTC lawsuit alone could take months. And the European Commission and the U.K.’s antitrust watchdog will have to weigh in.

SoftBank and Arm are entitled to keep $2 billion Nvidia paid at signing, including a $1.25 billion breakup fee, whether the deal goes through or not.

Nvidia also has to get signoff from Chinese authorities at a time when trade tensions are running high. The U.S. has sought to prevent China’s semiconductor industry from getting access to the latest technology. Many of the country’s fledgling chipmakers are Arm customers, giving Beijing extra incentive not to let the technology pass into U.S. ownership.

In arguing against the deal, companies like Qualcomm, Intel and Google have said that Nvidia can’t preserve Arm’s independence because it’s an Arm customer itself. Nvidia, the largest maker of graphics chips, competes with Intel in server processors and is expanding into new areas that would put it in direct competition with many other Arm licensees.

Nvidia also supplies chips to businesses such as Amazon’s AWS and Microsoft’s Azure, providing technology that handles artificial intelligence processing in data centers. Those companies also are developing their own chips, making Nvidia both a supplier and a potential rival.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
White House Eyes Budapest for Peace Talks
Cave Diving Beneath the Streets of Budapest
Another American Restaurant Chain Opens in Budapest
Hungarian Opposition Politician Supports Ukrainian Commander
U.S. Celebrates Labor Day
Hungarian National Team Captain Scores Epic Goal
Opposition Leader Threatens Media Outlets
Budapest Central European Fashion Week Kicks Off
American Airlines Adds New Flights to Budapest
F1 Hungarian Grand Prix Wraps Up
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
U.S. Trade Representative says Washington still negotiating trade deals after court rules tariffs illegal
Von der Leyen says Europe drawing up 'precise' plans to send troops to Ukraine
Kremlin accuses Europe of hindering Trump’s peace efforts in Ukraine
German Chancellor Merz expects Ukraine war to last a long time
Why Hungarians feel poorer than their neighbours despite rising wages
Fidesz minister vows Hungary will ‘rescue’ a crisis-stricken EU
Budapest completes back-to-school infrastructure upgrade
Hungarian–Chinese consortium wins tender for Budapest trolleybuses
Betting market fuels speculation about Viktor Orbán’s future
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Trump Administration Seeks to Repurpose $4.9 Billion in Foreign Aid
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
US Appeals Court Rules Against Most Trump-Era Tariffs
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
×