FTC Sues to Block $40 Billion Semiconductor Chip Merger (Nvidia)

[EastCoastHandle]

The Federal Trade Commission today sued to block U.S. chip supplier Nvidia Corp.’s $40 billion acquisition of U.K. chip design provider Arm Ltd. Semiconductor chips power the computers and technologies that are essential to our modern economy and society. The proposed vertical deal would give one of the largest chip companies control over the computing technology and designs that rival firms rely on to develop their own competing chips. The FTC’s complaint alleges that the combined firm would have the means and incentive to stifle innovative next-generation technologies, including those used to run datacenters and driver-assistance systems in cars.
...
According to the complaint, the acquisition will harm competition in three worldwide markets in which Nvidia competes using Arm-based products:

• High-Level Advanced Driver Assistance Systems for passenger cars. These systems offer computer-assisted driving functions, such as automated lane changing, lane keeping, highway entrance and exit, and collision prevention;
• DPU SmartNICs, which are advanced networking products used to increase the security and efficiency of datacenter servers; and
• Arm-Based CPUs for Cloud Computing Service Providers. These new and emerging products leverage Arm’s technology to meet the performance, power efficiency, and customizability needs of modern datacenters that provide cloud computing services. “Cloud computing” refers to the increasingly popular computing business model in which large datacenter operators provide computing services remotely and/or directly offer computing resources for rent, as well as provide other support services to customers who can then run applications, host websites, or perform other computing tasks on the remote servers—i.e., “the cloud.”

https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/pre...es-block-40-billion-semiconductor-chip-merger

 

[Hotwired]

Everyone and their dog saying it will break the game vs Jensen promising he will be good.

 

[Destination]

Don't see why we can't do something to keep the design and processes within the UK.
Don't let another resource **** off to foreign ownership, but then I've no idea who owns the bloody shares currently.

 

[Blackjack Davy]

Ironic that its america's FTC looking to block on grounds of protecting consumers rather than the UK who originated the company

 

[sandys]

UK Gov Already let ARM go to Japan (Softbank) and no one stopped it, can't believe there are any grounds for stopping another sale with that precedent.

 

[EastCoastHandle]

Ironic that its america's FTC looking to block on grounds of protecting consumers rather than the UK who originated the company

I am just as surprised by this.

 

[FoxEye]

Don't see why we can't do something to keep the design and processes within the UK.
Don't let another resource **** off to foreign ownership, but then I've no idea who owns the bloody shares currently.

That ship already sailed, no? It was sold off to SoftBank years ago.

 

[dowie]

UK Gov Already let ARM go to Japan (Softbank) and no one stopped it, can't believe there are any grounds for stopping another sale with that precedent.

What precedent?

Having a bank simply own it as an investment is a bit different to having a massive chip maker absorb it into their existing chip manufacturing business and the resulting issues mentioned in the OP.

 

[Steampunk]

UK Gov Already let ARM go to Japan (Softbank) and no one stopped it, can't believe there are any grounds for stopping another sale with that precedent.

Softbank is a venture capitalist/management company who kept ARM running pretty much as is. Nvidia are not just a customer of ARM, they are a competitor of all of other ARM's customers, and will likely want to use the ownership of ARM not just to benefit themselves, but to hinder their competitors, damaging other companies to gain a monopoly that will ultimately damage competition and customer choice/pricing.

 

[Pawnless Endgame]

While we're at it, we should have stopped the sale of 3DFX to Nvidia. Those Voodoo cards were awesome back in its day!

Back on topic, this is the first time I heard about ARM's involvement. The last thing I heard (a few days ago) is that it was a Chinese company who is trying to snipe Nvidia.

https://www.techradar.com/news/a-my...th-deep-pockets-is-gunning-for-nvidia-and-amd

 

[EastCoastHandle]

Look at it this way. If it wasn't for what nvidia did to 3DFX, Ageia, GPP, nvidia tried to rebrand freesync as gsync, etc we probably wouldn't be here. Regulators always do investigation on the company's history.

 

[arknor]

Don't see why we can't do something to keep the design and processes within the UK.
Don't let another resource **** off to foreign ownership, but then I've no idea who owns the bloody shares currently.

anything good that comes out of britain gets sold off.... oh we promise to keep manufacturing here.... our gov seems to believe anything.... probably donors involved every time

how many times have we seen the same thing? we won't change anything, we won't move production....

it's never in writing though is it? or contractually obliged it seems

 

[Destination]

i agree with you, we need more rope and more binding contracts
why don't you lot start to make use of all those nice bridges in London and hang ******* from them, until they actually do work for the benefit of the country

James Brexit Dyson moving HQ to Singapore still irritates

-edit
i should probably start a new thread, but can anyone give me a legitimate reason why directors loans from companies a director owns are a valid form of currency, and not simply a tax evasion shell
Why on Earth can some victorian **** give himself 6Million in loans he will never pay back to avoid the tax on claiming it as income?

 

[Freddie1980]

Jenson is like the boy who cried wolf, he's lied so many times over the years everyone in the industry just flat out refuses to believe anything he says.

Insistently Nvidia's share price dropped over 4% on Friday, there PE ratio is now down to 94.75

 

[dlockers]

i agree with you, we need more rope and more binding contracts
why don't you lot start to make use of all those nice bridges in London and hang ******* from them, until they actually do work for the benefit of the country

James Brexit Dyson moving HQ to Singapore still irritates

-edit
i should probably start a new thread, but can anyone give me a legitimate reason why directors loans from companies a director owns are a valid form of currency, and not simply a tax evasion shell
Why on Earth can some victorian **** give himself 6Million in loans he will never pay back to avoid the tax on claiming it as income?

Err I think you're thinking of something else

 

[Destination]

@dLockers I know, it is 2 separate thread, but when someone speaks of binding agreements, I think am forced to look at our bloody tax structure.
We sell of companies so MPs get kickbacks
We let natural resources go to waste
we let IPs go to waste, as it makes someone other than the country money
We let strange tax laws persist
Dyson ***** off
Victorian **** got company loans
Arm sell off will revolve around who is in government and who gets paid what.

Is there any legitimate non-dodge reason for such things to exist?

 

[FoxEye]

i agree with you, we need more rope and more binding contracts
why don't you lot start to make use of all those nice bridges in London and hang ******* from them, until they actually do work for the benefit of the country

James Brexit Dyson moving HQ to Singapore still irritates

-edit
i should probably start a new thread, but can anyone give me a legitimate reason why directors loans from companies a director owns are a valid form of currency, and not simply a tax evasion shell
Why on Earth can some victorian **** give himself 6Million in loans he will never pay back to avoid the tax on claiming it as income?

The system isn't designed to be fair. It's designed to benefit the ruling classes and their mates, and especially Tory party donors.

And this will always be true.

 

[EastCoastHandle]

To be fair Tegra wasn't that great. It's very likely they would hinder arm innovation imo.

 

[Cyber-Mav]

Arm is a mess now with the china branch going rogue so they should palm this company off onto anyone who wants it since theres gonna be big issues thanks to its china division.

 

[EastCoastHandle]

Samsung? Apple?