Samsung joins the bid for ARM, so it seems that NVIDIA is not the only company interested in taking over the British semiconductor manufacturer.
A week ago, NVIDIA’s intention to buy ARM was made public. Other potential buyers have uncovered the news. Many suitors have appeared to ARM in a short time, first Samsung, but also Apple.
ARM, for those who do not know it, is the main manufacturer of chips and processors for mobile devices. Virtually all mobile device manufacturers use ARM chips and architecture to manufacture their processors for mobile phones, tablets, wearables, and almost any smart device that does not use cables. The technology is British, although it belongs to the Japanese company SoftBank.
Rumors indicate that NVIDIA is interested in buying Softbank for $32 billion, which could mean a drastic change in the smartphone and technology device industry. NVIDIA is the first manufacturer of graphics cards and GPUs for gaming computers, laptops and consoles such as the Nintendo Switch, whose processor, the NVIDIA Tegra uses ARM architecture.
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When Samsung joins the bid for ARM, other companies that also rely on ARM products have made an offer not to run out of the pie. According to a senior official: “Samsung Electronics is considering acquiring a small stake in Arm, which will be between 3 and 5 percent.”
NVIDIA would not be able to buy Softbank on its own, the company is valued at $41 billion, a price that NVIDIA could not afford, without the help of other brands, giving other companies the opportunity to bid on a part. In addition, NVIDIA’s purchase of ARM could be interpreted as a monopoly within the industry, the same would happen if Samsung and Apple buy the entire company on their own.
The senior official also states that: “Nvidia will not become ARM’s sole suitor, as the company needs to obtain approvals from fair trade authorities in countries that are doing business with the British company. I think it will be difficult for Nvidia to get approval from any of those authorities.”
In addition to wireless devices such as mobiles, tablets and wearables, the ARM architecture has grown in recent years to be ready to serve the market for plug-in devices such as PCs. This enables it to compete directly with Intel and serve manufacturers of Windows and MacOS computers, expanding its influence in the technology market.
