It may not yet be the end of the story regarding a deal between the two as NVIDIA is reportedly looking into becoming an investor for ARM. The news comes via the Financial Times that SoftBank, which currently owns ARM Ltd., is in talks with multiple partners including NVIDIA to invest in it followings its IPO. SoftBank had previously been working on a deal estimated to be worth $80 billion which fell through in February 2022. However, an anonymous source has said that a new investment deal could be in the works instead.
Per Competition Policy International (CPI):
“According to an article by Financial Times, Nvidia could be the company to take one of the long-term stakes Arm is hoping to acquire. But the deal is still at an early stage and the amount Nvidia would invest would value Arm at $35 billion to $40 billion, which is a far cry from what SoftBank was hoping for—a valuation of about double that.”
Obviously, if it’s true that NVIDIA is reportedly looking into becoming an anchor investor, SoftBank is looking to shore up its investor support through multiple channels. It has been said that it is in discussion with at least ten investors including Intel, TSMC, and Alphabet (Google). Even if NVIDIA and SoftBank do look to secure a new investment deal it too could fall apart should it fails to meet the scrutiny of regulators such as the FTC or those of the EU or UK.
No Comment:
Presently ARM is only being listed on the US market as it has not yet gained approval for the UK. Meanwhile, NVIDIA and ARM have both declined to comment on the rumored investment anchor meeting talks. According to The Register, Intel had also been in talks with SoftBank but it too declined to comment on the matter.