The UK will conduct an in-depth investigation of the Arm acquisition transaction, NVIDIA responds: continue to communicate

Previously, according to local British media reports, the British government will order an in-depth investigation into the US chip giant Nvidia's plan to spend $40 billion to acquire the British chip design company Arm as early as this week, citing antitrust and national security concerns.

​It is said that the British Minister of Digital, Culture, Media and Sports Nadine Dorries (Nadine Dorries) will order the second phase of the investigation of the transaction and will direct the competition regulator to investigate antitrust and national security issues. The investigation is expected to be announced as early as Tuesday.

The British Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has warned that the deal may give Nvidia the power to cut off competitors from using Arm's energy-efficient and efficient designs, which are used in various technical fields ranging from data centers to smartphones. Although Doris must accept the decision of the CMA related to competition, she has the final decision on national security issues.

The European Commission also launched a longer investigation into the transaction last month, saying that the transaction could lead to "higher prices, fewer choices, and less innovation."

A full and in-depth investigation will take about 6 months, after which the government can block, approve or allow Nvidia to make an acquisition with certain promises.

Recently, NVIDIA responded to Engadget in response to this matter: NVIDIA will continue to cooperate with the British government to solve the problem , if there is a deeper investigation, NVIDIA will "show in detail" the benefits of the acquisition: benefit ARM while promoting competition .

The road to acquisition is long

Nvidia agreed to acquire Arm from Japan's Softbank in September 2020. This move immediately triggered strong opposition from politicians, competitors and customers. Competitor chipmakers such as Qualcomm, Samsung Electronics, and Apple all use Arm's technology to produce their own processors.

Chip makers are worried that Nvidia may threaten Arm’s status as a neutral partner after it controls Arm’s basic chip technology licensing. But Nvidia has said that such concerns have no basis.

Nevertheless, the British CMA sounded the alarm about the deal in August, when the agency stated that the combined entity may reduce competition in the global market that relies on chip technology. The British government is always considering the CMA's findings and assessing the possible impact of this transaction on national security.