Arm CEO Simon Segars and his chip style business will not be purchasingQualcomm
Stephen Shankland/ CNET.
Looks like Arm does not prepare to purchase part of Qualcomm after all.
CNBC reported on Thursday that Qualcomm’s previous CEO, Paul Jacobs, had actually been talking with tactical financiers to assist raise cash to take the mobile chipmaker personal. One financier name noted was Arm, the UK business that develops the architecture that’s the basis of a lot of mobile chips. Its clients, in addition to Qualcomm, consist of Apple and Samsung.
Arm stated in a declaration supplied to CNET that CNBC’s report was unreliable.
“There have been no discussions between Arm and Paul Jacobs on any potential acquisition of Qualcomm,” Arm stated.
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Jacobs, through a spokesperson, declined to comment.
Jacobs left his role as Qualcomm’s chairman last month after Broadcom’s hostile takeover attempt failed. Qualcomm announced that Jacobs was looking at buying out the company his father, Irwin Jacobs, co-founded. At the time, such an offer seemed to have little chance of success as Jacobs owned less than 1 percent of the company, which is valued at about $90 billion. Launching an offer for Qualcomm would require backers with deep pockets.
CNBC on Thursday reported that Jacobs has been talking to sovereign wealth funds and strategic investors to help take Qualcomm private in the next two months. Jacobs then would run the company, the publication said.
Going private could give Qualcomm some advantages. The San Diego-based company is the world’s largest maker of chips and processors for phones, but it’s been going through some turmoil over the past few months. Not having to answer to public shareholders could give Qualcomm time to sort out its legal problems and focus on the next generations of mobile technology.
But an investment by Arm could have been tricky. Qualcomm is one of Arm’s biggest customers, but it also supplies chip designs to all of Qualcomm’s rivals. If it’s seen as favoring one customer enough to invest in the company, it could jeopardize Arm’s relationship with others.
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