The European Union and the UK are preparing to launch “in-depth” investigations into Nvidia’s proposed US$40-billion acquisition of chip designer ARM from SoftBank Group, the Financial Times reported, citing a person with knowledge of the situation.
Government officials are pushing for deeper scrutiny after chip industry rivals called for the deal to get blocked, the FT said.
Nvidia agreed last year to buy ARM via the semiconductor industry’s largest-ever deal, taking control of a British firm whose designs lie at the heart of most modern electronics including smartphones.
The UK government has already said it will consider whether ARM would raise prices or hurt licensing services to Nvidia’s rivals after the transaction, and signalled it wants guarantees on the numbers of staff to be maintained. — Reported by Edwin Chan, (c) 2021 Bloomberg LP
