Possible ARM and Samsung alliance being raised by SoftBank CEO

A recent valuation put ARM at US$60 billion. Image source: ARM.

SoftBank Group’s Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son said Wednesday in a statement that it will discuss forming a strategic partnership between British chip design unit Arm and South Korea's Samsung Electronics.

It may not however be smooth sailing for Son’s plans with reports saying that while ARM would fill Samsung’s weak points, an acquisition is unlikely due to worries over antitrust issues.

Which is what has held up earlier acquisition attempts.

Following SoftBank’s acquisition of ARM in 2016 for US$32 billion, reports have Son viewing Arm as the "core of the core" of his investment group's business and considers its expansion a top priority with rumours of an IPO on the cards.

NVIDIA’s US$40 billion acquisition attempt ended in early 2022 when the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued to block NVIDIA's acquisition of Arm on the basis that it does not want a chip conglomerate to stifle the innovation pipeline for next-generation technologies.

This followed opposition from Qualcomm to the FTC, the European Commission, the U.K Competition and Markets Authority, and China's State Administration for Market Regulation.

Beyond antitrust issues, the price that has recently hit US$60 billion could be too much for a single company to swallow which is why recent ARM movements have centred around a consortium move.

Source: Nikkei Asia, Sam Mobile