Nvidia, the American chip designer, has snapped up its UK rival Arm from Japan’s Softbank Group in a $40 billion deal.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the deal was “pro competition”. It marked “the first time in history the industry could see something that is genuinely alternative” to Intel Corp’s domination of the sector, he said.
The deal is controversial. Hermann Hauser, who helped to establish the chip designer in the early 1990s, said it will be a “disaster” for Britain.
AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould, said the mega deal pushed the FTSE 100 up today.
“Along with US pharma giant Gilead buying a cancer specialist for north of $20 billion, Japanese investor Softbank announced it would sell UK microchip designer ARM to US-based Nvidia for $40 billion – just four years after snapping up the business in the wake of the Brexit vote for around $10 billion less. That’s a very tidy profit, although it is likely to have invested a lot in the business during its ownership.
“The biggest deal in terms of market sentiment was Oracle’s reported partnership with Chinese social media platform TikTok which helped ease concerns over the on-off trade war between the US and China.
“Later this week the focus is likely to be on the central bankers in the UK and US as they deliver their latest decisions on interest rates,” Mould said.
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