
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.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.
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.