FT: European Commission Intends To Investigate NVIDIA-Arm Deal

(RTTNews) - As per a report published in the Financial Times, the European Commission plans to launch an investigation into the announced acquisition of Arm by NVIDIA. The probe will likely begin after NVIDIA formally approaches the European Commission for approval.

On 13 September 2020, NVIDIA (NVDA) and SoftBank Group (SFTBY.PK, SFTBF.PK) announced an agreement under which NVIDIA will acquire Arm Limited from SoftBank. NVIDIA believes the purchase of Arm allows it to invest deeper in Europe and make the region a major NVIDIA center of innovation. The deal is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approvals for the U.K., China, the European Union and the United States.

On August 20, the Competition and Markets Authority in the UK found that NVIDIA's purchase of Arm raises serious competition concerns. Arm's intellectual property is used by companies that produce semiconductor chips and related products, in competition with NVIDIA. Based on the finding, the CMA decided that the merger should be progressed to an in-depth phase 2 investigation.