Softbank is quashing the planned sale of chip technology company Arm to Nvidia, while reporting a return to profitability.
Valued at $40 billion when it was agreed to in 2020, the deal could have brought SoftBank $74 billion due to growth in Nvidia’s stock.
The Tokyo-based investment giant is reviving plans to take Arm public. Arm provides technology used in the Nintendo Switch and other gaming and hardware devices.
The deal faced heavy regulatory scrutiny in multiple countries — namely the U.S., where the Federal Trade Commission sued to block the deal.
SoftBank will pocket a nonrefundable deposit of $1.3 billion from Nvidia.
- SoftBank recorded $39.7 billion in net sales for the nine months ending Dec. 31, 2021, up 10.7% year-over-year.
- However, it’s net income plummeted 79% from the same period in 2020 to $5.6 billion.
- The company bounced back from the previous quarter, when it lost $3.5 billion, to post $251 million in profit for the last three months of 2021.
Big Spender in Sports, Fitness
SoftBank has invested heavily in sports and fitness over the past year, acquiring Accordia Golf in November in a $3.5 billion deal. The previous month, it invested $400 million in activewear brand Vuori.
Prior to that, it led a $680 million funding round for NFT soccer platform Sorare and a $200 million round in health tracking wearable company WHOOP. It also joined a $325 million investment in Fanatics.
