Update: Nvidia and Softbank announced the abandonment of buyout in a press release.
There will be no acquisition of ARM by NVIDIA
It was a gigantic project carried by Nvidia for more than a year. The acquisition of ARM from the Softbank group for 40 billion dollars (since revalued to 75 billion dollars following the rise of Nvidia stock) in a bet to dominate computing and artificial intelligence in the future.
A bet a little too important for the authorities in charge of monitoring the good performance of competition. The EU was notably inclined to impose compromises on Nvidia, while the FTC in the United States think the project is against the rules of competition.
At the end of January, we learned that even Nvidia was starting to not believe it anymore. The decision is now definitively official to abandon the project.
This claim comes to us first from the Financial Times, which was able to interview three sources who all claim that Nvidia officially decided to abandon the proposed takeover during a board meeting.
The Reuters press agency also confirmed this information by its own source and the Wall Street Journal also confirms it, also with its own source.
With so many different sources and such reputable media, the end of the takeover is now a virtual certainty, pending an official statement from Softbank or Nvidia.
Gizchina News of the week
WHAT FUTURE FOR ARM?
Without a takeover by Nvidia, what ARM will become, the mobile semiconductor giant? Bloomberg understands that Softbank, the owner of the firm, should embark on an IPO; to put ARM on the stock market.
We should indeed remember that Softbank finds itself in an impasse on the market for new technologies. The group’s stock has fallen 50% since its record high in March 2021.
Without a takeover by a giant in the sector like Nvidia; ARM should keep its status as a fairly neutral player in the industry. ARM should continue to market its licenses to the various players: Apple, Samsung, Qualcomm, but also Nvidia.
Also, Arm said in a separate statement that it had appointed Rene Haas to replace Simon Segars; as its chief executive officer and member of the board, effective immediately. A chip industry veteran, Haas joined Arm in 2013 and before that worked seven years at Nvidia. “We are excited about the opportunity to be a publicly listed company again,” said Haas in an interview with Reuters.
