The UK government said it was considering an in-depth probe of Nvidia’s proposed $40 billion takeoverof Arm Holdings after the nation’s antitrust regulator found the deal raised serious competition concerns, reported The Wall Street Journal.
Nvidia’s acquisition of Arm would lead to a realistic prospect of less competition, a stifling of innovation and more expensive or lower-quality products, according to a summary of the regulator’s report published Friday. The antitrust concerns were part of a broader report that also addressed national-security concerns, which the government didn’t make public.
UK Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden said he was now considering asking the antitrust regulator to conduct a more-thorough investigation of the proposed merger. There is no timetable for that decision. The digital secretary could eventually decide whether to nix the merger or to approve it, with or without conditions.
An Nvidia spokesman said the company looked forward to addressing the antitrust regulator’s “initial views” and resolving any concerns from the UK government. Nvidia’s chief financial officer said earlier this week that while discussions with regulators were taking longer than they had initially expected, the company was confident that the deal would go through.
Based in Silicon Valley, Nvidia makes chips for videogaming, data centers and other businesses. It is now the largest U.S. semiconductor company by value after overtaking Intel by that measure. Last year Nvidia proposed buying Arm, a U.K.-based subsidiary of Japan’s SoftBank, that designs the basic blueprints for the chips in more than 95% of the world’s smartphones.
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
Uruguayan Antitrust Scrutiny Puts Major Meatpacking Deal Between Marfrig and Minerva on Hold
May 19, 2024 by
CPI
Alaska Airlines Seeks Dismissal of Consumer Lawsuit Over $1.9 Billion Hawaiian Airlines Buy
May 19, 2024 by
CPI
Idaho Attorney General Orders Split of Kootenai Health and Syringa Hospital
May 19, 2024 by
CPI
Court Rejects T-Mobile’s Appeal Bid in Antitrust Case Over Sprint Merger
May 19, 2024 by
CPI
Google Requests Judge, Not Jury, to Decide on Antitrust Case
May 19, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Ecosystems
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Mapping Antitrust onto Digital Ecosystems
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Ecosystems and Competition Law: A Law and Political Economy Approach
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Ecosystem Theories of Harm: What is Beyond the Buzzword?
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Open Ecosystems: Benefits, Challenges, and Implications for Antitrust
May 9, 2024 by
CPI