Terminated deal

Arm and NVIDIA (proposed buyer), from SoftBank Group: the deal on record

NVIDIA agreed in September 2020 to buy Arm from SoftBank Group for USD 40 billion. The FTC sued to block the deal in December 2021 and the UK government referred it for an in depth CMA investigation on competition and national security grounds. The parties terminated the agreement on 7 February 2022, with SoftBank keeping a USD 1.25 billion prepayment from NVIDIA.^1,2,3,4

Timeline

1. 13 September 2020NVIDIA announces an agreement to acquire Arm.¹
2. 20 July 2021The CMA delivers its phase 1 report to the UK Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.³
3. 16 November 2021The Secretary of State refers the deal for a phase 2 investigation on competition and national security grounds.³
4. 2 December 2021The FTC issues an administrative complaint to block the deal, by a 4 to 0 vote.²
5. 7 February 2022NVIDIA and SoftBank announce the termination of the agreement. SoftBank keeps the USD 1.25 billion NVIDIA prepaid.⁴
6. 8 February 2022The CMA cancels its merger inquiry.³

Regulatory review

1. 16 November 2021UK Secretary of State and Competition and Markets Authority. Phase 2 reference on competition and national security grounds.³
2. 2 December 2021US Federal Trade Commission. Sued to block the acquisition.²
3. 8 February 2022UK Competition and Markets Authority. Inquiry cancelled after the deal was abandoned.³

Status now

Arm remained with SoftBank and listed on Nasdaq in September 2023. See arm-ipo-2023.⁴

Sources

1. NVIDIA, NVIDIA to Acquire Arm for $40 Billion, Creating World's Premier Computing Company for the Age of AI (13 September 2020)
2. US Federal Trade Commission, FTC Sues to Block $40 Billion Semiconductor Chip Merger (2 December 2021)
3. UK Competition and Markets Authority, NVIDIA / Arm merger inquiry (case page) (8 February 2022)
4. NVIDIA, NVIDIA and SoftBank Group Announce Termination of NVIDIA's Acquisition of Arm Limited (7 February 2022)