Softbank sells Arm Holdings for $ 40 billion

Nvidia announced that it will buy British chip design company Arm Holdings Inc. from SoftBank Group for up to $ 40 billion in a deal that will reshape the global semiconductor industry. / p>

According to Reuters, the deal puts a vital resource for Apple and many other companies in the sector under the control of a single player and potentially facing opposition from regulators and Nvidia's biggest competitors. US chip producer by market value.

As for Softbank, the deal is an early exit from ARM, which it bought just four years ago for $ 32 billion. Chief Executive Masayoshi Son has been relying too much on Aram's future but is cutting his stakes in critical assets to raise liquidity.

The deal includes $ 21.5 billion in shares and Nvidia will pay Softbank $ 12 billion in cash, including two billion upon signature. Under the deal, SoftBank and the $ 100 billion Vision Fund, which has a 25 percent stake in ARM, will acquire between 6.7 and 8.1 percent in Nvidia.

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang said the deal, which boosts his company's data center chips sector, is boosting competition. "The industry will see, for the first time in its history, a real alternative to Intel Corp's dominance of the sector," he said.

With the prospect of opposition looming, Hwang said he would maintain ARAM's neutral licensing model and expand it by granting Nvidia intellectual property licenses as well for the first time.

The British company does not produce the chips. Rather, it sells licenses for the technology used to manufacture them.

Arm licenses its design and technology for the chips and technologies to clients including Qualcomm, Apple and Samsung Electronics. Apple's upcoming Mac computers will use ARM chips.

Hwang said the deal would not be subject to ARAM's US export restrictions.

The deal requires regulatory approvals from Britain, the United States, and China, and may be subject to strict scrutiny in China, where hundreds of companies, including Huawei, use ARM technology.

The Arm's purchase is expected to close in March 2022.

(Amazon fun knowledge)