Nvidia terminates $40-bn acquisition deal

New Delhi: In a massive blow to Big Tech, graphics chip giant Nvidia on Tuesday finally scrapped the $40 billion deal, the biggest ever in the world of semiconductors, to acquire British chip designer Arm, amid anti-trust probes in the US and Europe.

Nvidia and Softbank agreed to terminate the agreement because of significant regulatory challenges preventing the consummation of the transaction, despite good faith efforts by the parties.

Softbank also announced that, in coordination with Arm, it will start preparations for a public offering of Arm within the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023.

"Arm has a bright future, and we'll continue to support them as a proud licensee for decades to come," said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia, adding that he expects Arm to be the most important CPU architecture of the next decade.

Under the terms of the agreement, SoftBank had already received a deposit of $1.25 billion during the signing.

In accordance with the terms of the agreement, Softbank will retain the $1.25 billion prepaid by Nvidia, which will be recorded as profit in the fourth quarter, and Nvidia will retain its 20-year Arm license, said the companies.