“Nvidia looking to acquire Arm”

Multiple reports have surfaced that Nvidia is now in serious talks to acquire Arm from Softbank, either fully or partially. Previously, holding company Softbank had been considering an IPO for the semiconductor designer, which it acquired in 2016, until Nvidia expressed interest. Softbank is currently trying to reduce its debt load, while Nvidia has plenty of money on hand. The market capitalization of the GPU and data center chip firm recently edged passed Intel’s, which is the world’s leading semiconductor supplier in terms of revenue.

While little details about the negotiations have come out, whatever deal might be hammered out is sure to invite thorough scrutiny from antitrust authorities. Semiconductor companies around the world that license ARM IP, some of them competitors of Nvidia, will definitely be concerned.