Following the news that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will carry out further investigation into NVIDIA’s takeover of Arm;

David Bicknell, Principal Analyst, and Dr Lil Read, Analyst, on the Thematic Research Team at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offer their view:

“This latest government probe is another nail in the coffin for the proposed merger between Nvidia and Arm. With proceedings likely to extend into late 2022 at the earliest, Nvidia should just abandon the deal and focus on its future away from Arm.

“Ordering a security review signals that the UK government doesn’t want this bid to succeed. Couple this with an already underway EU investigation and the further prospect of a China referral, and Nvidia faces some tough questions. It is unlikely it will want the continued uncertainty of a bid that is going nowhere. We think it is time for Nvidia to move on, and for Softbank to return Arm to where it found it – the stock market.

“Nvidia’s future beyond Arm extends into the metaverse, a virtual world where users share experiences and interact in real-time within simulated scenarios. Nvidia is already targeting the metaverse as a key pillar of its future – a wise decision as GlobalData believes it will be the next big technology megatheme.”