ARM selected as the strongest non-memory semiconductor design leader
Still in the early review stage… Presenting the direction of the joint acquisition
SK Hynix Vice Chairman Park Jung-ho announced on the 30th that he is considering a plan to jointly acquire ‘ARM’, a British semiconductor design company. However, it is said that the acquisition method is only presented in principle and is still in the initial review stage.
▲ SK Hynix Vice Chairman Park Jung-ho explaining the company vision
SK hynix CEO and Vice Chairman explains the company’s vision to shareholders at the regular general shareholders’ meeting held at the headquarters in Icheon, Gyeonggi-do on the 30th. yunhap news
After the regular shareholders’ meeting held at the headquarters in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province on the same day, Vice Chairman Park responded to a question from reporters, ‘Are you considering an ARM acquisition?’ “I don’t think ARM is a company that one company can acquire.” We are considering a plan to take over.”
ARM is a subsidiary of SoftBank of Japan and a semiconductor design company based in the UK. Vice Chairman Park, who is also the CEO of SK Square, the parent company of SK Hynix, responded to a question from shareholders about the plan to acquire ARM at the SK Square shareholders’ meeting on the 28th, saying, “I want to buy ARM. You don’t have to aim to buy the largest stake and control it.”
Previously, SoftBank Group sold ARM to US semiconductor company Nvidia in September 2020, but it was ultimately canceled as regulators refused to approve the merger and acquisitions on the grounds of ‘non-monopoly’. It was decided that a company that is leading the non-memory semiconductor design market should not be owned exclusively by a specific semiconductor company. ARM accounted for 90% of the mobile chip design market share and 85% of the tablet design market share as of 2020.
ARM also possesses many core technologies for designing AP (application processor) semiconductors developed and sold by Samsung Electronics, Apple, and Qualcomm. It is reported that SK Hynix is considering acquiring ARM in order to strengthen the non-memory business together with the foundry.
At the shareholders’ meeting, Vice Chairman Park said, “On the 10th anniversary of its foundation, SK hynix has grown in a way that no one could have imagined. We will leap forward as a technology company.”
The agenda for the shareholders’ meeting, including the appointment of new inside directors Kwak No-jeong, Roh Jong-won as president, and the re-appointment of Ha Young-koo as outside director, were decided as originally proposed.
Reporter Park Seong-guk
