By now, many among you are aware of NVIDIA’s vested interest in acquiring the semiconductor maker, ARM, from its principal owner, Softbank, and for a hefty sum at that. Recently though, a rumour arose that the GPU brand may have some competition from Samsung; a rumour that the Korean electronics giant quickly shot down.
According to Samsung, rumours suggesting that it had plans on starting a bidding war between itself and NVIDIA over ARM were both “groundless” and “unfounded”. For context, the rumour was first reported by The Korea Times; it said that Samsung was contemplating obtaining a small share of the UK-based firm. Between three and five percent.
While the rumour has clearly been debunked from the horse itself, it is somewhat intriguing that such a rumour made its way into the internet; NVIDIA is said to be prepared to pay Softbank up to US$32 billion (~RM134 billion) for all of ARM. If rumours about Samsung’s involvement were true, though, the amount it would’ve been paying for just a five percent stake would still be around US$1.6 billion (~RM6.72 billion).
But while NVIDIA’s potential buyout of ARM may currently run unhindered, it is also likely that the GPU brand will also be inheriting its current woes as well. Chief among which being the ongoing internal strife between ARM UK and its Chinese division. The latter currently being led by an ex-CEO that is refusing to give up the proverbial throne.
(Source: The Korea Times via Hot Hardware)
