SoftBank nears deal to acquire chip designer Ampere

SOFTBANK Group is in advanced talks to acquire Ampere Computing, sources familiar with the matter said.

The Japanese company is discussing a deal that could value the Oracle-backed chip designer at about US$6.5 billion, including debt, according to the sources. A transaction may be announced in the coming weeks, they said.

Bloomberg News reported last month that SoftBank and chip designer Arm Holdings, which is majority-owned by SoftBank, had expressed interest in a takeover of Ampere.

While talks are at an advanced stage, they could still be delayed or falter, the sources said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. Representatives for Ampere, Arm and SoftBank declined to comment.

A deal for Ampere, whose early backers also include private equity firm Carlyle Group, would add to a wave of chip companies looking to capitalise on a spending boom in artificial intelligence (AI). Oracle said last year that it owns 29 per cent of Ampere and can exercise future investments options that would give it control of the company.

Ampere, which makes processors for data centre machinery using Arm’s technology, was valued at more than US$8 billion in a proposed minority investment by Japan’s SoftBank in 2021, Bloomberg News reported at the time. But the chips market has grown more competitive since then, with several large tech companies rushing to develop the same kinds of products that Ampere makes.

On Wednesday (Feb 5), Arm gave a cautious revenue forecast, adding to concern that spending on AI computing is slowing. The company expects revenue of US$1.18 billion to US$1.28 billion in the fiscal fourth quarter, which runs to March.

The outlook follows a disappointing forecast from Advanced Micro Devices earlier this week, sparking fears that the booming market for AI hardware is now on shakier ground. Chinese startup DeepSeek, which unveiled an inexpensively produced AI model last month, has raised the spectre that technology providers will not be generating as much revenue as predicted. BLOOMBERG