· It is observed that Samsung may conduct a merger and acquisition in the form of "joint acquisition" , that is, form a consortium with other semiconductor companies such as Intel. But SK Hynix executives once said, "I don't think Arm is a company that can be acquired."
· On March 15 this year, according to Bloomberg News, citing insiders, Rene Haas, chief executive of Arm, said in a memorandum to employees that Arm would cut 12% to 15% in the United Kingdom and the United States. The insider said that this layoff will involve up to 1000 jobs, most of which will take place in Britain and the United States, most of which will not affect engineers, and did not provide specific layoff figures in various countries. In the face of internal and external troubles, Softbank can only sell Arm and find another way.
· According to Reuters, Softbank Group of Japan said that it would discuss the formation of a strategic partnership between British chip company Arm and South Korea's Samsung Electronics. Sun Zhengyi, CEO of Softbank Group, said in a statement: "I want to discuss the strategic alliance between Samsung and Arm."
· Although the results seem good, ARM is far from Intel, Nvidia and other chip giants in terms of both revenue and valuation. In terms of revenue: Intel's revenue in 2021 will exceed $72 billion, and Nvidia's revenue will exceed $16.8 billion; Valuation: ARM has only increased by a quarter in the past six years. In the same period, Qualcomm's market value has increased by 50%, while Nvidia's market value has increased by nearly 13 times. The lack of financial resources made Arm start to reduce expenses.
<1> The Korean media interpreted Li Zairong's statement as that Samsung expressed a strong desire to acquire Arm. However, the reality is that it is not easy to succeed in mergers and acquisitions, because Samsung is also a leader in the semiconductor industry, and it seems difficult to cross the anti-monopoly review of governments. However, Li Zaireng's latest statement may point to a new direction for the fate of Arm. Li Zairong told the media that Sun Zhengyi, chairman and CEO of Softbank, may visit Seoul next month, when he may discuss the acquisition of Arm.
<2> On Wednesday (September 21) local time, Li Zairong, vice president of Samsung Electronics, who had just arrived in South Korea, revealed at a press conference that he might discuss with Sun Zhengyi about the acquisition of Arm next month.
<3> In 2016, Arm was acquired by Softbank Group led by Sun Zhengyi for US $32 billion. In 2020, Nvidia bought Arm from Softbank at an unprecedented price of 40 billion US dollars in the technology industry, but after ups and downs, Nvidia chose to give up. Later, market news said that Softbank may list Arm in the UK or the US.
<4> In the near future, ARM's business situation is really unsatisfactory. In 2021, ARM's revenue will reach 2.7 billion US dollars, an increase of 35% year on year. Adjusted EBITDA (profit before tax, interest, depreciation and amortization) increased by 68% to US $1 billion year on year, and the adjusted EBITDA profit margin was 37%.
<5> ARM, headquartered in the United Kingdom, is a chip IP design company. Qualcomm, Apple and other enterprises all use the ARM chip architecture to develop chips in mobile phones, computers, automobiles and other fields. It can be called the "king of chip IP". The UK also regards the company as the "pearl in the crown" of the country's technology industry.
