[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] American semiconductor company Nvidia has been reported to be preparing to abandon its acquisition of the British semiconductor company ARM after making little progress.
On the 25th (local time), Bloomberg News reported this citing multiple sources.
Previously, Nvidia agreed in September 2020 to acquire ARM from Japan's SoftBank for $40 billion (approximately 47.9 trillion KRW).
Final approval of the acquisition required regulatory clearance from competition authorities in the US, UK, China, and the EU. However, last month, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit opposing Nvidia's acquisition of ARM, the UK's largest technology company, citing concerns that the deal could hinder innovation and competition.
The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) also expressed "serious concerns from a competition perspective" in July last year. The European Union (EU) Commission has stated that it is examining whether ARM's intellectual property rights would be infringed by this acquisition.
One source explained that even if Nvidia obtains approval from authorities in the US, UK, and EU, Chinese regulators?who are generally reluctant to approve corporate acquisitions?might oppose the deal. Another source reported that SoftBank is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) of ARM in case the acquisition does not go through.
However, Nvidia has publicly expressed support for the deal. SoftBank also issued a statement saying, "We remain hopeful that the transaction will be approved."
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