UK regulators will launch a formal antitrust investigation into NVIDIA’s acquisition of ARM

Nvidia announced the acquisition of British chip design company ARM for US$40 billion last year. Of course, the acquisition quickly attracted attention in the industry and other countries.

ARM was in the hands of Japan’s Softbank, and it would not have any adverse effects on the chip industry. The potential consequences of being acquired by Nvidia may be more serious because Nvidia is also a chip manufacturer, which may be detrimental to other chip manufacturers in the same industry.

The semiconductor chip is the top priority of the current technological development, so the anti-monopoly regulatory agencies in various countries are also very concerned about this matter and actively assess the subsequent impact.

When ARM was acquired by Japan’s Softbank, the British regulatory agency basically agreed without any conditions, because the United Kingdom also knew that SoftBank’s acquisition of ARM was actually not a big problem.

The most violent response to Nvidia’s acquisition of ARM is the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom is very worried that the acquisition of Nvidia will have a significant adverse impact on the British technology industry.

ARM is a company established in Cambridge, which is also one of the most powerful companies in the UK, while Nvidia is an American company in California.

Taking into account the various restrictive measures that the United States has previously implemented in terms of technology, even the United Kingdom, which has already left the European Union, is worried that the acquisition will cause technical losses in Europe.

Of course, Nvidia also promised that the headquarters of ARM will continue to be located in Cambridge, England after the acquisition, but this kind of promise obviously cannot eliminate the potential concerns of British regulators.

In addition, the industry is full of concerns about the acquisition, so the British antitrust regulator has revealed in advance that it will launch a formal antitrust investigation into the acquisition.

The UK Competition and Markets Authority is currently collecting opinions from chip industry companies in the UK, and the agency also said it will launch an investigation sometime this year.

The biggest impact of this acquisition on the industry is the uncertainty of Nvidia because Nvidia is also a chip industry participant that overlaps with competitors.

If the acquisition is completed, Nvidia’s technical strength can be rapidly expanded, and Nvidia can naturally revoke the authorization of competitors to hinder free-market competition.

There are also industry companies that worry that Nvidia will increase the authorized price or service quality after the acquisition is completed, in order to suppress competitors and maintain Nvidia’s market position.

The British Competition and Markets Authority said that the chip technology industry is vital to people’s daily lives, and the agency will cooperate with other agencies around the world to conduct careful evaluations.

Ensure that this acquisition will not have a negative impact on the chip industry, causing consumers to buy products at higher prices or only buy low-quality products.

When Nvidia announced the acquisition, it already stated that it might face investigations from the United Kingdom, China, the European Union, and the United States, but Nvidia is confident about this.

Via: CNBC