UK investigates acquisition of Arm by Nvidia over ‘national security’

The United Kingdom has formally launched an investigation into the acquisition of Arm by Nvidia. That investigation should show what the consequences are for national security. The examination must be completed by July 30.

UK Secretary of State Oliver Dowden of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has announced an intervention notice. With this he has investigated what the takeover of the British Arm by Nvidia means for national security. The British Competition and Markets Authority will carry out that investigation and must have it submitted to the minister by 30 July.

The British ministry does not provide substantive details about the decision. The minister says that he has received advice on which the decision is based. Nvidia announced last year that it plans to acquire Arm from SoftBank. An amount of 40 billion dollars is involved.

The acquisition is controversial, as Nvidia is now a buyer of Arm, as are many of Nvidia’s competitors. If Nvidia gets its hands on Arm itself, it could give the manufacturer a preferential position over the competitors. An Arm co-founder called the acquisition disastrous for the chip designer’s business model. Nvidia states that Arm’s independence and business model will be preserved after an acquisition.

Nvidia and Arm and their shareholders agree on the acquisition, but it has yet to be approved by competition authorities. In addition to the United Kingdom, China, the United States and Europe must also consider the acquisition. Those agencies have not yet announced any formal investigations.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang recently said in an interview with VentureBeat that he is confident that the acquisition will eventually be approved. When announcing the acquisition, the companies said it would take 18 months to finalize everything. That would mean that the acquisition will be completed by the end of 2022.