Nvidia and ARM

The US corporation Nvidia has decided to abandon its acquisition of UK company Arm due to disapproval of the deal by regulators. The Financial Times reported this on Tuesday, citing unnamed sources.

They said the potential $66 billion deal broke down on Monday after antitrust regulators in the United States, Britain and the EU raised concerns about its potential impact on competition in the semiconductor market. Japanese holding company SoftBank, which has a controlling stake in Arm, will receive a fee of up to $1.25 billion. The corporation is also preparing for an initial public offering of Arm as an alternative to a deal with Nvidia.

The companies announced the potential deal in September 2020, at the time it was valued at around $38.5 billion. As Nvidia's shares rose proportionately, so did its acquisition price, hitting a high of $87 billion last November.

In February 2021, Google, Microsoft and Qualcomm filed complaints with the US antitrust regulator about the UK Arm's acquisition of Nvidia. These corporations are concerned that the purchase could harm competition in chip design and manufacturing. The companies believe that Nvidia, a customer of Arm, will not be able to maintain its independence.