Qualcomm "consortium" looking to purchase large stake in Arm, keep it independent

[Cal Jeffrey]

Recap: Arm has had a wild ride in the last few years, with its fate having been all but determined several times. At one point, it was going to be owned by Nvidia, but that merger fell through. Then it was going to be offered on the NYSE, but the head of the China division blocked it — twice. The board tried to fire him, but he refused their vote — twice. Now he's rechallenging the IPO. And if that's not enough of a rollercoaster, Qualcomm and a group of investors have formed a consortium interested in keeping the company independent through acquisition.

Qualcomm is reportedly interested in a bid to acquire a major stake in Arm. It has entered into a consortium with several other unnamed companies to make the offer to Arm's current parent company SoftBank. The consortium's stated goal is to ensure the semiconductor company remains independent.

Nvidia was set to close an acquisition in September 2020, but under intense regulator scrutiny, Nvidia backed out of the $40 billion deal. With the buyout nixed, SoftBank planned a $60 billion Arm IPO to take place sometime before the end of its 2023 fiscal year.

However, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon warns that an IPO would be just as bad for the industry as the Nvidia deal.

"We're an interested party in investing," Amon told the Financial Times. "It's a very important asset, and it's an asset which is going to be essential to the development of our industry."

The transition to Arm-based @Windows PCs wouldn't be possible without support from our incredible partners. With @Microsoft, @Acer, @ASUS, @HP, and @Lenovo, we continue to deliver the power and efficiency PC users deserve on @Snapdragon compute platform-powered devices. #CES2022 pic.twitter.com/5cuLu42FRp

— Qualcomm (@Qualcomm) January 4, 2022

Qualcomm relies heavily on the Arm architecture to provide SoCs to multiple OEMs. If a single corporation bought enough controlling stock or purchased the company outright, it could negatively affect it and other firms that build Arm-based products. Amon said that the company needs several companies with vested interests to be involved to ensure it remains independent and does not just answer to a single controlling entity, but fell short of naming names.

"You'd need to have many companies participating, so they have a net effect that Arm is independent," the Qualcomm boss said.

Qualcomm and its consortium have not yet entered into talks with SoftBank. Amon said he wants to wait until the ongoing Arm China issues are resolved. These problems primarily lie on the shoulders of the China division's head, who the board has tried to oust several times.

Although SoftBank announced a potential initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange almost two years ago, even those plans remain in question. In February 2022, the head of Arm China, Allen Wu, entered a legal challenge to the IPO. It is the third time Wu has tried blocking the move since 2020.

The IPO has also run into trouble with valuation because although China's board voted unanimously to remove Wu, he holds the company's official seal and remains its legal representative. Essentially, he must sign off on any board decisions, so he has ignored votes to fire him. Wu also controls a key investment firm that gives him power over most of Arm China's shareholders.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/94776-qualcomm-consortium-looking-purchase-large-stake-arm.html

 

[psycros]

A Trojan horse if ever there was one. There's no need for a "consortium" to own the company when its already independent.

 

[Ojref]

Yeah, I smell the stink of Jensen's cat-urine all over this one.

 

[dragosmp]

A Trojan horse if ever there was one. There's no need for a "consortium" to own the company when its already independent.

exactly, when you buy something, it is in order to own it, not to keep it independent

 

[Watzupken]

A Trojan horse if ever there was one. There's no need for a "consortium" to own the company when its already independent.

This is right. Considering that Nvidia failed in acquiring ARM, so then why is there a need to try and buy stakes in ARM? Isn't it the same as what Nvidia was doing, except they are doing it less aggressively because they know the outcome if they try and acquire ARM.

 

[GregonMaui]

So, it'll be independent and you can get the IP and licensing, but to use it, you also have to pay for licensing every other patent (no matter how unrelated) that Qualcomm has ever read. Good deal, can't wait

 

[mbrowne5061]

A Trojan horse if ever there was one. There's no need for a "consortium" to own the company when its already independent.

ARM isn't independent now. They haven't been since Softbank bought them (and possibly earlier? Not really relevant anymore, imo)

Softbank *IS* selling ARM, there is no getting around that. So, which would you prefer:

A) selling ARM via an IPO to banks and investment firms on Wallstreet. Financial institutions that will only ever care about share price and dividends, which will likely mean an end to all but the most basic R&D

or

B) selling ARM to a private consortium comprised of ARM's customers. While they may have a financial incentive to see ARM cut costs and grow revenues, they also need ARM to continue to innovate and create new processors

The only trojan horse you need to watch out for here is Allen Wu. He is quite obviously trying to make it so that the only ones who can buy ARM is his Chinese investment group. I suspect ARM will completely pull out of China before they allow themselves to be strong-armed into a sale to a Chinese company.

 

[Avro Arrow]

Allen Wu is a smart cookie. He knows that going IPO would be dangerous with companies like nVidia lurking about wanting to grab all of it. He's the only one there who isn't being driven by greed but by the ideal of what ARM represents. I applaud him.