The purchase – poised to become the biggest semiconductor deal in history when it was announced in September 2020 – has drawn a fierce backlash from regulators and the chip industry, including Arm’s own customers. The US Federal Trade Commission sued to stop the transaction in December, arguing that Nvidia would become too powerful if it gained control over Arm’s chip designs.
Nvidia Corp is quietly preparing to abandon its purchase of Arm from SoftBank Group Corp after making little to no progress in winning approval for the US$40 billion chip deal, according to people familiar with the matter.
Nvidia has told partners that it doesn’t expect the transaction to close, according to one person, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. SoftBank, meanwhile, is stepping up preparations for an Arm initial public offering as an alternative to the Nvidia takeover, another person said.
