The US Federal Trade Commission on Thursday sued to block US chip company Nvidia’s more than $80 billion (roughly Rs. 5,99,760 crore) planned acquisition of British chip technology provider Arm, adding to already significant global regulatory challenges of the deal.
The FTC said the proposed deal would give one of the largest chip companies control over computing technology and designs that competitors rely on to develop their own competing chips.
The deal has been widely expected to fall apart after facing opposition in the chip industry. British regulators said last month they would launch an in-depth probe of the deal, and it is also under scrutiny in the European Union.
Arm licenses its chip architecture and blueprints to major chipmakers Apple, Qualcomm, and Samsung, underpinning the global smartphone ecosystem. Arm was sold to Japan’s SoftBank in 2016.
Nvidia said it would “work to demonstrate that this transaction will benefit the industry and promote competition.”
Arm declined to comment.
The stock-heavy deal has more than doubled in value since it was announced in September…
