The merger between Nvidia and Softbank's chip business, Arm, has reportedly fallen apart due to regulatory and competition concerns. This decision came after Nvidia's board meeting on Monday. If it had been successful, the merger would have given Nvidia much more power in the chip industry.
In a new report from the Financial Times, SoftBank and Nvidia decided to stop pursuing the deal between them because of the regulatory hurdles that came with completing the transaction. Executive management at Arm has been changed due to the deal collapsing. CEO Simon Segars has been replaced by Rene Haas, who was previously the president of Arm's intellectual property group.
SoftBank will receive a fee of 1.25B and said that it would be looking to seek an initial public offering of Arm before the end of the next fiscal year in March 2023. It's currently unknown whether Arm will list itself in New York rather than London, as its headquarters are located in the UK.
With its base of operations in the UK, British politicians viewed Arm as a strong asset to have in the country. A British competition review was even extended due to concerns about national security because of the company potentially being listed outside of the UK.
However, Nvidia tried to assuage the anxieties of British politicians by saying that it would be able to financially help Arm expand into new markets. Softbank reportedly wants to list Arm in New York because it would have a higher valuation than the UK.
Some big tech corporations, such as Qualcomm and Microsoft, were against this merger because they relied on Arm's chip designs. Nvidia would have gotten first rights to Arms technology if the merger had been approved.
The deal between Arm and Nvidia was announced in September 2020. Recently, there have been shortages of semiconductor chips globally, as gaming companies like PlayStation and Nintendo have reported that the production of consoles has slowed down as a result.
George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @yinyangfooey
Continue reading...
In a new report from the Financial Times, SoftBank and Nvidia decided to stop pursuing the deal between them because of the regulatory hurdles that came with completing the transaction. Executive management at Arm has been changed due to the deal collapsing. CEO Simon Segars has been replaced by Rene Haas, who was previously the president of Arm's intellectual property group.
SoftBank will receive a fee of 1.25B and said that it would be looking to seek an initial public offering of Arm before the end of the next fiscal year in March 2023. It's currently unknown whether Arm will list itself in New York rather than London, as its headquarters are located in the UK.
With its base of operations in the UK, British politicians viewed Arm as a strong asset to have in the country. A British competition review was even extended due to concerns about national security because of the company potentially being listed outside of the UK.
However, Nvidia tried to assuage the anxieties of British politicians by saying that it would be able to financially help Arm expand into new markets. Softbank reportedly wants to list Arm in New York because it would have a higher valuation than the UK.
Some big tech corporations, such as Qualcomm and Microsoft, were against this merger because they relied on Arm's chip designs. Nvidia would have gotten first rights to Arms technology if the merger had been approved.
The deal between Arm and Nvidia was announced in September 2020. Recently, there have been shortages of semiconductor chips globally, as gaming companies like PlayStation and Nintendo have reported that the production of consoles has slowed down as a result.
George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @yinyangfooey
Continue reading...