The $40 billion takeover of Britain’s most valuable technology business was thrown into doubt last night amid speculation that the government is thinking of blocking the deal on national security grounds.
Last September it was announced that Arm, the Cambridge-based microchip designer, was being sold to Nvidia as part of the American chipmaker’s push to capitalise on the booming market for semiconductors.
The sale would net a healthy return for Arm’s current owner. SoftBank, the Japanese conglomerate, took the company private in 2016 for $34 billion.
However, the Competition and Markets Authority, at the request of Oliver Dowden, the culture secretary, has been scrutinising the proposed takeover since April. The regulator was asked to identify any competition issues and to pull together a summary
