Nvidia’s acquisition of chip-designer ARM faces heat by UK regulator
By Shubhangi on Aug 21, 2021 | 03:31 AM IST
Nvidia Corp’s
planned acquisition of British chip designer ARM will take longer than expected
as the deal faced a major hurdle on Friday after a UK regulator announced a
further lengthy investigation.
The Britain’s
competition regulator said the merger could hinder competition in markets
globally and weaken rivals.
U.S. Group
Nvidia bought ARM Holdings, a semiconductor and software design company based in
Cambridge, in September for $40 billion from Japan’s Softbank. The chip design
company was owned by Softbank since 2016.
Since ARM
is a major global semiconductor company, chip firms fear that Nvidia would take
advantage and use ARM’s innovations for its company rather than distributing
them in the market.
"We're concerned that Nvidia controlling ARM could
create real problems for Nvidia's rivals by limiting their access to key
technologies, and ultimately stifling innovation across a number of important
and growing markets," said Andrea Coscelli, head of Competition and Markets
Authority, reported Reuters.
Another criticism of the deal is the threat to innovation in
the most important industries of the economy.
Nvidia recently
said that the deal is taking longer than expected to win the necessary
approvals. The deal was expected to wrap by March next year but the deadline is
now shifted to September next year.
(With
inputs from Reuters)
Picture
Credits: Reuters