UK may ban NVIDIA-Arm deal on national security grounds

Posted on Wednesday, August 04 2021 @ 20:34 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
NVIDIA
Roadblocks for NVIDIA's plan to buy British chip designer Arm for $40 billion are popping up as regulatory concerns are intensifying. Bloomberg heard whispers that the UK is considering to block the deal over potential national security risks.

People familiar with the discussions confided to Bloomberg that an assessment from the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which was delivered in late July, contains "worrying" implications for the UK's national security. Bloomberg was unable to unearth specifics about why the CMA fears the deal.
The assessment, delivered in late July, contains worrying implications for national security and the U.K. is currently inclined to reject the takeover, a person familiar with government discussions said. The U.K. is likely to conduct a deeper review into the merger due to national security issues, a separate person said.

No final decision has been taken, and the U.K. could still approve the deal alongside certain conditions, the people added. [U.K. Culture Secretary Olive] Dowden is set to decide on whether the merger needs further examination by the U.K.’s competition authorities.
At the moment, Arm is owned by Japanese conglomerate SoftBank. The latter bought Arm in 2016 for $31.4 billion and has managed Arm via a hands-off approach.


About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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