What you need to know
- EU antitrust regulators are conducting an in-depth investigation into NVIDIA's acquisition of Arm.
- The concern is that the merger could limit access to Arm technology or raise prices.
- Several other entities are also looking into the acquisition.
NVIDIA is facing a lot of scrutiny over its proposed acquisition of Arm, and the latest investigation by European Union antitrust regulators will only set things back even more.
On Wednesday, the European Commission announced that it has opened an "in-depth investigation" into the proposed acquisition. The Commission is concerned that taking over Arm will allow NVIDIA to cut access to technology from its rivals, raise prices, or lead to reduced innovation.
Arm is responsible for the architecture used to build chips powering the best Android phones and more, so the concerns seem justified.
If this sounds familiar, it's because the UK's Competiton and Markets Authority (CMA) and the FTC have expressed similar concerns as both entities probe the acquisition.
In the press release, the Commission noted NVIDIA recently submitted commitments that address some of its concerns. However, "the Commission considered these commitments insufficient to clearly dismiss its serious doubts as to the effect of the transaction."
In response to the EC's investigation, an NVIDIA spokesperson told Android Central that the company is "working closely with the European Commission through the regulatory process" and that it hopes to "address their initial concerns and continue demonstrating that the transaction will help to accelerate Arm and boost competition and innovation, including in the EU."
NVIDIA initially hoped to have the deal completed by March 2022, but due to increased scrutiny, CEO Jensen Huang previously expressed that the deal likely won't close until the end of next year. That said, the EU investigation is set to make its final decision on the matter by March 15, 2022, at the latest.
