In a statement, SoftBank cited “significant regulatory challenges” that prevented it from completing the deal. It said that it would instead prepare ARM for a public offering within the fiscal year ending March 2023.
Under the terms of the agreement, SoftBank had already received a deposit of $1.25 billion during the signing. That payment was non-refundable, and “will be recognized as profit” in the Japanese conglomerate’s earnings for the quarter ending this March, it said.
It was originally expected to close within 18 months, which would have been around this time. But it ran out of steam as it became a subject of global regulatory scrutiny, including from China and the United Kingdom.
The deal would have had to pass regulatory approvals from the United Kingdom, the European Union, the United States and China.
Had it gone through, it would have been the semiconductor industry’s biggest-ever deal, topping Avago’s acquisition of Broadcom in 2015, according to Dealogic.
— Rishi Iyengar contributed to this report.