Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang wore his usual leather jacket.
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LONDON – The UK competition watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority, announced on Wednesday that it plans to investigate the proposed acquisition of British chip designer Arm by Nvidia.
Nvidia announced plans to buy the Cambridge-headquartered company from SoftBank for $ 40 billion last September, and critics have since called on governments and regulators to investigate the deal.
The CMA said it is inviting third parties to express their views on how the deal will affect competition in the UK, before launching a formal investigation later this year.
“The chip technology industry is worth billions and critical to many of the products we use most in our daily lives,” Andrea Coscelli, CEO of the CMA, said in a statement.
“We will work closely with other competition authorities around the world to carefully consider the impact of the deal and ensure that consumers do not end up facing more expensive or lower quality products,” added Coscelli.
With 6,500 employees, including 3,000 in the UK, Arm is widely regarded as the jewel in the crown of the British tech industry. The chips power most smartphones in the world, as well as many other devices.
Arm Chief Executive Simon Segars told CNBC in December that he expects regulators to “ look closely ” at the deal.
“Many jurisdictions around the world require regulatory approvals,” Segars said last month. “That is a lengthy process. There is a lot of interaction with regulators to provide the information they want.”
When the acquisition was announced, Nvidia and Arm said they hoped to complete the deal in early 2022.
Two British tech investors predicted last October that the acquisition will be blocked.
Nvidia did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.