The Sunday Times
Ministers are poised to pull the trigger on a full-blown investigation into the sale of ARM, Britain’s biggest technology company, in a move that threatens to scupper the controversial $40 billion (£30 billion) deal.
Nadine Dorries, digital and culture secretary, will this week order a “phase 2” probe into US chip giant Nvidia’s acquisition of the Cambridge-based semiconductor design company from Japan’s SoftBank. She will instruct the competition watchdog to carry out an in-depth inquiry into antitrust concerns, as well as scrutinise national security fears raised by the takeover, which was agreed in September 2020.
The Competition & Markets Authority said it had “serious competition concerns” after delivering its findings from the “phase 1” probe in July to Dorries’ predecessor, Oliver Dowden. Dorries must accept the CMA’s decision on competition, but will have the final say on national security.
The launch of a phase 2 inquiry on both counts, expected to be announced on Tuesday, will be a big blow to Nvidia, which has argued that ARM will wither unless it receives the huge investment it is willing to provide. The deal now faces lengthy delays as regulators in the EU and China also scrutinise it.
ARM’s chip design technology is used to power most of the world’s computing devices, such as smartphones, smart TVs and cars connected to the internet. Customers such as Microsoft and Google fear Nvidia will restrict the supply of ARM’s processor technology and could raise prices. Nvidia denies this.
The government declined to comment. Nvidia said: “We will continue to work with the UK government to resolve its concerns. A phase 2 process would enable us to demonstrate … how the transaction will help accelerate ARM.”