Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang said he is still confident regulators will green-light its US$40 billion acquisition of SoftBank Group’s Arm, despite growing skepticism about the deal’s prospects.
Government approval in China and elsewhere may come later this year or in 2022, Huang said over video at the Computex conference in Taipei on Wednesday, June 2. He pointed out that an earlier acquisition took about a year and a half so it is likely the current process will be similar.
“I expect this one to take 18 months so that’s later this year, early next year. I am confident about the transaction,” he said. “Our companies are complementary so we’ll bring, by nature, innovations that come as a result of companies that come together and offer complementary things.”
The comments come as the semiconductor industry’s biggest ever acquisition faces increasing headwinds from regulators in China and the UK Chinese technology companies including Huawei Technologies are lobbying their government against the transaction, while a regulator in the UK, where Arm is based, said it plans to intervene on national security grounds. At the same time, Arm is mired in a legal battle for control of its China unit with the CEO, who was fired by SoftBank but has refused to leave.
Arm designs the processors and architecture used by the vast majority of mobile electronics devices, underpinning Apple Inc.’s in-house M1 chips and Samsung Electronics Co.’s Exynos silicon, among others.
Nvidia is committed to paying Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank US$2 billion whether the deal goes through or not. The US chipmaker’s stock has climbed more than 25% since the acquisition was announced last September.
“The regulators are looking for: Is this good for competition? Is this pro-competitive and brings innovation to the market? Does it give customers more choice, does it give customers more offerings and more choice?” he said. “You could see that on the first principle that our companies are completely complementary.”
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
Lawmaker Probes FTC and EU’s Role in Amazon’s Failed iRobot Acquisition
May 2, 2024 by
CPI
FTC to Approve Exxon’s $64 Billion Deal with Pioneer Resources, Excludes
May 1, 2024 by
CPI
UK Competition Watchdog Raises Alarm Over Nvidia’s ARM Takeover
May 1, 2024 by
CPI
Sen. Klobuchar Urges Regulators to Probe Collusion in Healthcare Pricing
May 1, 2024 by
CPI
Multiple States Join Tennessee’s Antitrust Lawsuit Against NCAA Over NIL Rules
May 1, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Economics of Criminal Antitrust
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Navigating Economic Expert Work in Criminal Antitrust Litigation
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
The Increased Importance of Economics in Cartel Cases
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
A Law and Economics Analysis of the Antitrust Treatment of Physician Collective Price Agreements
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Information Exchange In Criminal Antitrust Cases: How Economic Testimony Can Tip The Scales
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI