SoftBank Group’s chip company Arm Holdings has received takeover interest from Nvidia, Bloomberg News reported.
SoftBank, which acquired Arm for $32 billion in 2016, is exploring options including a full or partial sale or a public offering of the British chip designer.
The Japanese conglomerate had recently approached Apple to gauge its interest but the latter is not planning to pursue a bid.
Arm’s licensing operation would fit poorly with Apple’s hardware and software focused business model and there may also be regulatory concerns about Apple owning a key licensee that supplies so many rivals.
SoftBank last month unveiled a series of transactions to divest more than $21 billion worth of stock in U.S. wireless carrier T-Mobile US as it seeks funding for a $41 billion share buyback and debt reduction plan.
