Qualcomm, known for designing and manufacturing Snapdragon processors, is seeking a stake in ARM. The company is also ready to help create a consortium that will keep the British chipmaker neutral or at least out of the influence of any other chipmaker.
This was reported by Qualcomm to Financial Times . Cristiano Amon, the company’s chief executive, said they were interested in investing in ARM, as well as joining forces with other chipmakers to buy ARM from its owner, SoftBank. In particular, Intel and SK hynix are interested in this.
Qualcomm can play a key role in the acquisition, as it is one of the largest ARM licensees. Its Arm-based Snapdragon systems run many smartphones and other gadgets. The directors of Intel and SK hynix also expressed interest in the consortium, they recently met to discuss cooperation. Probably, they could raise questions about ARM as well.
Previously, NVIDIA tried to buy ARM for $40 billion. However, the case attracted too much regulatory attention, which cause the agreement to fail. The authorities are concerned about the fact that ARM is seen as an independent provider of processor technology. This makes it difficult to sell to a company that already has a large market share in ARM products.
At the same time, the current agreement to acquire ARM by joint efforts may fail its current owner SoftBank. They plan to retain a controlling stake instead of selling his entire stake. Earlier, SoftBank announced that it plans to complete the first public sale of shares by March 31, 2023.
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