The European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, has launched an “in-depth investigation” into Nvidia’s acquisition of British chip designer Arm, which is currently owned by SoftBank. Nvidia announced more than a year ago that he wanted to buy Arm for $ 40 billion.
The investigation, announced by the Commission on Wednesday, represents the latest failure for chipmakers, who have already said the job is unlikely to be completed before the original March 2022 deadline.
The commission said it was concerned that the merger could limit access to Arm’s “neutral” chip design and could lead to higher prices, less choice and reduced innovation in the semiconductor industry.
“Although Arm and Nvidia do not compete directly, Arm’s IP is an important input in products that compete with Nvidia’s products, such as data centers, the automotive industry and the IoT.”, Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.
“Our analysis shows that Nvidia’s acquisition of Arm could lead to limited or degraded access to Arm’s IP, with distortion effects in many semiconductor markets.“, She added.
This takeover should also be examined by regulators in the US, UK and China.
“We work closely with the European Commission through the regulatory processA Nvidia spokesman told CNBC. “We look forward to responding to their initial concerns and continue to show that this transaction will help strengthen Arm and foster competition and innovation, including for the EU. “
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source: businesshala