Qualcomm, the company behind Snapdragon chipsets, wants to buy ARM, the company behind every chipset powering the device near you. There is one problem, but Qualcomm seems to have a solution. Remember how Nvidia‘s plan of acquiring ARM was shut down when regulators denied the deal saying it would create a monopoly, and even Qualcomm was not happy with the acquisition by Nvidia. Well, now Qualcomm wants a chunk of ARM, but it may not be able to do so alone, so it is planning a consortium to buy ARM from Softbank.
Softbank is planning to sell off the ARM through an IPO after the failed acquisition by Nvidia. But Qualcomm’s boss Christiano Amon is reportedly not very happy with the IPO as he thinks offering ARM in an IPO will be as bad as Nvidia’s acquisition. And that is why Amon wants to buy ARM with a bunch of other silicon manufacturers in order to keep it independent. According to Bloomberg, Softbank expects a valuation of $60 million for ARM in its IPO. Also, Softbank is planning to list ARM on the New York stock exchange, which may not go very well with the government of the UK.
“We’re an interested party in investing,” Amon told the Financial Times. He further added, “It’s a very important asset, and it’s an asset which is going to be essential to the development of our industry.”
Qualcomm believes that if everyone is a part of the deal, the ground will be levelled, and ARM will remain independent. “You’d need to have many companies participating, so they have a net effect that ARM is independent,” said Amon.
It is not the first time that someone has wanted to acquire ARM. Before Nvidia, Samsung was reportedly planning to get hold of ARM, but neither Nvidia nor Samsung succeeded. Now, Samsung is expected to join this consortium, and even Pat Gelsinger, CEO of Intel, expressed the company’s interest in being a part of such a consortium.
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