Softbank Gives Up Deal To Sell UK Chip Firm Arm

Japanese investment and technology conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp. said Tuesday it has agreed to terminate a deal to sell its stake in British chip designer Arm Ltd. to US semiconductor maker Nvidia Corp. due to regulatory hurdles.

Photo Insert: A Softbank branch in Osaka

The announcement came after issues were raised by regulators in the United States and Europe on the potential impact on competition in the semiconductor industry. Britain had also expressed concerns over implications for national security.

Softbank said it and Arm will start preparing for a public offering of the Cambridge-based firm within fiscal 2022 through March next year, with Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son touting its potential in taking the lead in growth areas such as cloud business and metaverse.

"We will aim for the largest listing in the history of semiconductor (devices)", Son said at a press conference, adding that he is eyeing the listing of Arm on the US market, possibly Nasdaq.

Son acknowledged that Nvidia's acquisition of Arm had to be abandoned due to the strong opposition by various governments. "We gave up (as we felt) we can no longer obtain approval even if we made further efforts," he said.

With Arm, whose chips are used in smartphones and various other products, now back under SoftBank, Son said he foresees "the coming of a golden era" for the subsidiary.

WEEKLY FEATURE : MVP Group Keeps Lights On During Pandemic