Arm scrambles for new CEO as $40bn mega deal with Nvidia collapses
British chip maker Arm has rushed to appoint a new chief executive after its $40bn sale to Nvidia collapsed amid opposition from regulators.
The deal, which would have been the largest ever in the chip sector, collapsed late last night after facing opposition from UK, US and EU regulators who raised concerns about the impact of the sale on competition in the global semiconductor industry.
Arm quickly pushed for a shakeup to company leadership, today announcing the hurried appointment of Rene Haas as chief executive officer with immediate effect. He replaces Simon Segars, who has stepped down as chief executive officer after 30 years at the company.
“Rene is the right leader to accelerate Arm’s growth as the company starts making preparations to re-enter the public markets,” said Masayoshi Son, the chairman and chief executive of Arm owner, Softbank.
Softbank will receive a break-up fee of up to $1.25bn from Nvidia with the Japanese technology giant confirming it will instead seek an initial public offering for Arm, expected before the end of the financial year in March 2023.
For some time, the deal has faced push back from the tech industry and regulators. Big Tech companies which rely on Arm’s chip designs, including Microsoft, had raised concerns about the purchase which could see Nvidia exert a stranglehold on the electronics manufacturing industry. The US Federal Trade Commission even sued to block the buyout in December.
Confirming news of the collapsed deal, Nvidia’s chief executive Jensen Huang said “Arm has a bright future, and we’ll continue to support them as a proud licensee for decades to come.”
“Arm is at the center of the important dynamics in computing. Though we won’t be one company, we will partner closely with Arm,” Huang added.
According to FT reports Softbank favours a New York listing and will resist nationalistic pressure from the UK.
Read more: Nvidia prepares to abandon Arm takeover