FTC to Review SoftBank’s Acquisition of Chip Firm Ampere

The Federal Trade Commission has opened an in-depth review of SoftBank’s acquisition of Santa Clara-based chip designer Ampere Computing, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

The FTC made what is known as a “second request for information,” signaling the start of a lengthy probe that could delay the closing of the deal, which SoftBank initially projected would happen in the latter half of the year. SoftBank in March said it agreed to pay $6.5 billion in cash to buy Ampere, which makes energy-efficient chips based on designs from Arm—a chip firm SoftBank owns.

The FTC blocked SoftBank’s 2020 plan to sell Arm to Nvidia. Spokespeople for the FTC, SoftBank and Ampere declined to comment on the Bloomberg report.