NVIDIA said to be interested in acquiring ARM

As reports surfaced last week on SoftBank considering a potential sale of ARM Holdings, NVIDIA is said to be interested in acquiring the semiconductor designer. 

Sources told Bloomberg that NVIDIA recently reached out to SoftBank about a potential deal for ARM. SoftBank is reportedly exploring options to sell part or all of its stake in ARM through a private deal or public stock listing, which included approaching Apple to gauge the latter's interest. 

While Apple and SoftBank had preliminary discussions, the iPhone maker is unlikely to make a bid. ARM's licensing business model is not a good fit for Apple's hardware and software business model. Moreover, Apple's acquisition of ARM could lead to regulatory concerns about the company owning a key licensee that many phone makers are paying. 

There could be other potential bidders and NVIDIA's interest may eventually not lead to a deal. SoftBank could still pursue a listing. If an acquisition deal is made, it could become the biggest one in the chip industry.

Source: Bloomberg