SoftBank’s Ampere deal faces in-depth US probe in threat to AI ambitions

SoftBank’s all-cash transaction valuing Ampere at $6.5 billion was announced in March and represents another step in the Japanese company’s push to add artificial intelligence infrastructure capabilities

SoftBank Group Corp.’s acquisition of semiconductor designer Ampere Computing LLC is facing a potentially lengthy probe by the US government.

The Federal Trade Commission, one of two regulators charged with reviewing deals, has opened an in-depth investigation of the takeover, known formally as a second request for information about the transaction, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because it wasn’t public yet.

Only a small portion of deals face such follow-up requests. In some instances investigations can last for a year or more and are a precursor to a lawsuit to block the deal.

A representative for Ampere declined to comment. A SoftBank spokesperson was unable to immediately comment, while a representative for the FTC didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

SoftBank’s all-cash transaction valuing Ampere at $6.5 billion was announced in March and represents another step in the Japanese company’s push to add artificial intelligence infrastructure capabilities. Ampere makes server processors that are one of the main components of data center computers.

SoftBank is already the majority owner of Arm Holdings Plc, whose technology is used across the electronics industry and increasingly as the basis of server chips. Ampere is a customer that licenses Arm’s fundamental technology.

When the deal was announced, SoftBank and Arm said they intended to close the transaction in the second half of 2025. Their plan called for Ampere to operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of SoftBank, retaining both its name and its headquarters in Santa Clara, California.

SoftBank and Arm have previously faced antitrust scrutiny. SoftBank’s 2020 plan to sell Arm to Nvidia Corp. was investigated by agencies around the world and ultimately abandoned after being challenged in the US and the UK.

Arm is also embroiled in a global licensing dispute with Qualcomm Inc., which lodged antitrust complaints with the European Commission, the FTC and South Korea’s antitrust regulator late last year, Bloomberg News has reported. Qualcomm alleges that Arm is hurting competition by restricting access to its technology after operating an open network for more than 20 years.