Nvidia and SoftBank officially terminate $40 billion Arm deal

Nvidia has officially terminated its $40 billion proposed acquisition of semiconductor and software design company Arm.

The company confirmed that regulatory challenges have resulted in the deal falling apart, and said both itself and Arm owner SoftBank agreed to scupper the deal.

Nvidia said it worked in "good faith" with SoftBank to complete the transaction, but ultimately couldn't persuade regulators to approve the purchase. SoftBank will now co-ordinate with Arm to facilitate a public offering within the upcoming fiscal year.

"Arm is becoming a center of innovation not only in the mobile phone revolution, but also in cloud computing, automotive, the Internet of Things and the metaverse, and has entered its second growth phase," said SoftBank representative director, corporate officer, chairman, and CEO Masayoshi Son. "We will take this opportunity and start preparing to take Arm public, and to make even further progress."

Although the acquisition has been terminated, SoftBank will retain the $1.25 billion pre-paid by Nvidia, which will be recorded as profit during the fourth quarter. Nvidia will also retain its 20-year Arm license.