June 15 (Reuters) - Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) may not be able to meet a March 2022 deadline for closing its $40 billion acquisition of British chip technol

Analysis: Nvidia’s closing of $40 bln Arm deal could hinge on Europe

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2021-06-16 11:00:05

June 15 (Reuters) - Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) may not be able to meet a March 2022 deadline for closing its $40 billion acquisition of British chip technology firm Arm Ltd due to European regulators’ reluctance to consider the case until after the summer holidays, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Nvidia announced the Arm deal last year, sparking an immediate backlash in the semiconductor industry, where Arm has long been a neutral player licensing key intellectual property to customers who are otherwise intense rivals, including Qualcomm Inc (QCOM.O), Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) and Apple Inc (AAPL.O).

The company needs regulatory approval from U.S., European and Chinese authorities, all of which are expected to scrutinize the transaction closely. While Nvidia told investors last year that it plans to close the deal by March 2022, the purchase agreement gives the two companies the option to extend the deadline to September 2022. But at that point, either party has the option to walk away if the deal does not receive government approval.

Nvidia has not yet filed an application to clear the deal with the European Commission. Officials there have made it clear to the company that they need until September to gather enough information to accept Nvidia's formal application for approval, according to three people familiar with the matter.