Nvidia seeks EU approval for $54 billion worth Arm acquisition deal

Nvidia Corp. sought European Union approval on Wednesday for its $54 billion deal to buy British chip designer Arm.

An initial deadline of October 13 has been set to rule on the transaction, according to a European Commission filing.

Nvidia, the largest graphics and AI chips maker, had announced the deal last year but was delayed as regulators raised concerns on competition in the market.

Arm is a significant company in the semiconductor industry and its acquisition by Nvidia has raised questions such as whether the company will remain a neutral player in licensing key intellectual property to customers and rivals.

Some important customers of Arm include Qualcomm Inc, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Apple Inc.

"We are working through the regulatory process and we look forward to engaging with the European Commission to address any concerns they may have. This transaction will be beneficial to Arm, its licensees, competition, and the industry," Nvidia said in a statement.

Nvidia had earlier said that it would maintain Arm as a neutral technology supplier.

The EU antitrust regulator may allow the deal between Nvidia and Arm after its preliminary review or start a four-month long investigation.

The competition watchdog of Britain had argued that the deal could hamper competition in the market and act negatively for the rivals, and thus requires a lengthy investigation.

Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp owned Arm provides designs for almost every smartphone and many other devices and is a key to technologies from artificial intelligence and quantum computing to 5G telecoms networks.

(With inputs from Reuters)

Picture Credits: Reuters