Report: Qualcomm tells regulators it objects to Nvidia’s $40 billion acquisition of Arm

Back in September, Nvidia confirmed that it was going to move forward with the process of acquiring Arm Holdings from SoftBank for $40 billion. However, with regulators around the world looking into the deal, it’s surfaced that Qualcomm has been vocal with authorities about its objection to the acquisition.

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Reported by CNBC, anonymous sources close to the matter have said that Qualcomm has been in touch with authorities around the world to share its stance that the Nvidia/Arm deal shouldn’t be approved.

Qualcomm has reportedly shared its objection with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), European Commission, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority, and China’s State Administration for Market Regulation. The objection is based on a number of concerns that haven’t been shared publicly at this point.

In the US, the FTC has entered a “second phase” of investigating the deal and has requested more information from Nvidia, SoftBank, and Arm. And the process is expected to take “many months” with substantial documents needed to be produced and reviewed.

Qualcomm didn’t share a comment after a request from CNBC but the report says the US chipmaker “contacted the regulators because it thinks they will play a significant role in determining whether the deal gets completed or not, according to the sources.”

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For its part, Nvidia remains bullish that the deal will be approved:

Nvidia told CNBC said it is confident regulators will see the benefits of the acquisition. Arm declined to comment and SoftBank did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment.

In the event the deal goes through, Nvidia says it intends to keep Arm’s business model the same and spend significant resources to make sure clients like Apple don’t walk away.

Related:

• Nvidia confirms acquisition of Arm Holdings from SoftBank for $40 billion
• Report: Apple held ‘preliminary’ talks with Arm about an acquisition, but not planning a bid
• SoftBank mulls sale of Arm Holdings, could Apple be a potential buyer?

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