Nvidia disclosed late Wednesday that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has "expressed concerns" over its $40 billion bid to acquire chip designer Arm, according to its chief financial officer.
CFO Colette Kress said during the company's fiscal third-quarter earnings conference call the deal was under review by the FTC, but did not elaborate on the nature of the regulator's worries. Kress said the company was discussing remedies to the FTC's concerns. Arm licensees have also raised issues with the potential deal, Kress said.
Despite the setbacks Kress said, "We continue to believe in the merits and benefits of the acquisition to Arm, its licensees, and the industry."
The deal, first announced more than a year ago, has encountered regulatory resistance around the world. Regulators in the U.K. and the European Union launched in-depth investigations into the deal. Just Tuesday, the U.K.'s Digital Secretary ordered the country's Competition and Markets Authority to conduct a six-month review of the deal over competition and national security concerns.
The transaction also requires approval from Chinese regulators.
Nvidia reported third-quarter profit of $2.46 billion on revenue of $7.1 billion. Data center sales jumped 55% to $2.94 billion from the year-ago period. On a sequential basis, data center revenue rose 24%.