Arm takeover by Nvidia will definitely not go through

The sale of the British chip designer Arm to Nvidia is definitively cancelled. That write SoftBank, the current owner of Arm, and Nvidia. The acquisition was worth about $40 billion. The companies announced the planned acquisition in 2020.

SoftBank writes in the quarterly report that the acquisition is definitively off the table and Nvidia confirms this in a press release. SoftBank and Nvidia have decided to abandon the acquisition due to “significant regulatory challenges” impeding sales. SoftBank holds a bail of $937 million. The sale was worth about $40 billion.

SoftBank has been planning to sell Arm since July 2020, after which, according to various media, Nvidia showed interest in Arm quite quickly. In September 2020, it was announced that Nvidia had reached an agreement with SoftBank about the acquisition. Nvidia would acquire Arm for $40 billion, of which $21.5 billion in shares and $12 billion in cash. Also, SoftBank would get another $5 billion if Arm were to achieve positive results.

SoftBank in the quarterly report on the acquisition

The takeover quickly drew criticism from various regulatory authorities. For example, Bloomberg wrote in October 2020 that the Chinese government actually blocked the acquisition of Arm by imposing strict conditions on the acquisition. In 2021, both the European Commission and the British government announced that they would further investigate the acquisition, as the acquisition would affect chip prices and competition. The American market watchdog FTC even started a lawsuit to block the takeover.

Due to all the criticism, the rumor was already going around that the takeover would not go through. Nvidia is said to have told partners that in January. In the quarterly report that SoftBank published today, it says that the sale has officially broken down. Sources tell the Financial Times that SoftBank will list Arm in London or New York. The Financial Times also reports that Arm CEO Simon Segars will be replaced by Rene Haas, the current director of Arm’s intellectual property division.

Update 08:50 – Added Nvidia’s confirmation.