SoftBank nearing $40 billion deal to sell ARM Holdings to Nvidia: Report
by Hemani ShethSoftBank Group Corp. is nearing a $40 billion deal to sell British chip designer ARM Holdings to Nvidia Corp, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
The two chip giants have been held exclusive discussions over several weeks. The deal is likely to go through as early as next week, as per the report.
WSJ in July had reported that SoftBank was exploring options for the British chipmaker. These included a full or partial sale or an Initial Public Offering (IPO).
SoftBank had acquired the British chip designer in 2016 in a $31.4 billion deal.
SoftBank has been under pressure to up its stumbling stock price as per reports. If the deal goes through, it is likely to be one of the largest semiconductor deals so far.
ARM’s chips have been used in processors from tech giants such as Apple, Samsung, and Qualcomm.
The company has gained popularity post its acquisition. Microsoft, for instance, had made an ARM-based Surface device and a version of Windows for ARM. Apple is also planning to switch to ARM-based chipsets for future Mac devices, The Verge reported.
Nvidia is the leading maker of GPUs for devices.