The world's biggest maker of graphics and AI chips announced
the Arm deal last year, sparking an immediate backlash in the semiconductor
industry.
Arm has long been a neutral player licensing key
intellectual property to customers who are otherwise intense rivals, including
Qualcomm, Samsung Electronics, and Apple.
However, Nvidia said it has garnered the support of Arm
customers Broadcom, MediaTek, and Marvell, according to a presentation on its
website.
A request to the European Commission for approval of the
deal will kick off a 25-working day preliminary review. Nvidia is unlikely to
offer concessions during this period, the sources said, which will then prompt
a 90-working day full-scale EU investigation.
Sources previously told Reuters in June that Nvidia may not
be able to meet a March 2022 deadline for closing its deal due to European
regulators' reluctance to consider the case until after the summer holidays.
The Financial Times reported earlier that the European Union
was set to launch a formal competition probe into the planned takeover early
next month.
Britain's competition regulator said last week that the deal
could damage competition and weaken rivals, and required a further lengthy
investigation.
"This transaction will be beneficial to Arm, its
licensees, competition, and the industry. We are working through the regulatory
process and we look forward to engaging with the European Commission to address
any concerns they may have." Nvidia said.
Arm did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for
comment.
Arm, currently owned by Japan's SoftBank Group is a major
player in global semiconductors, a sector fundamental to technologies from
artificial intelligence and quantum computing to 5G telecoms networks. Its
designs power nearly every smartphone and millions of other devices. -Reuters
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