admin Nvidia, US graphics chip maker stated it plans to acquire UK-based Arm Holdings in a deal worth up to $40 billion, in a move that would create a global industry powerhouse
Nvidia and Arm’s parent company, Japanese technology giant SoftBank, declared the deal Sunday.
Nvidia is based in Santa Clara, California, and is identified for its graphics processing chips. Arm’s chip designs power the vast majority of the world’s smartphones and the company is well-known as an innovator in technology for connected devices, known as the Internet of Things.
Arm centers its business on designing chips and licensing the intellectual property, especially in mobile computing, instead of chip manufacturing, for which it relies on partners.
Under the terms of the deal, NVIDIA will pay SoftBank USD 21.5 billion in stock and USD 12bn in cash.
SoftBank could get a further USD 5bn if Arm hits performance targets while Arm employees will get USD 1.5bn worth of Nvidia shares.
SoftBank bought Arm for about USD 32bn in 2016 in an effort to cement the Japanese company’s ambitions in advancing how various devices, involving security cameras and household appliances, connect online and work together.
“The company plans to keep Arm based at its headquarters in Cambridge, England, where it will build an artificial intelligence research center and hire more engineers,” said Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.
This isn’t about consolidation, this isn’t about cost savings,” Huang informed reporters. Regulators in the UK, China, the European Union and the United States will need to approve the deal, which will need about 18 months to complete, said Nvidia.
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