Rumors circulated in the financial world yesterday that Apple was considering buying chipset designer ARM Holdings. The acquisition would have been huge for the mobile market, and constituted a stop the presses moment for the tech business world; ARM already produces most of the world’s embedded processors. Therefore, if Apple took them under their wing, it would spell big trouble for their competitors.
The market responded, shooting ARM’s stocks 8.1 points to an eight-year high as investors readied themselves for big news. The gossip, according to TechCrunch, was that Apple would buy them out for a cool $8 billion.
And then they woke up. As ARM Chief Executive Warren East told the Guardian:
Exciting though it is to have the share price pushed up by these rumours, common sense tells us that our standard business model is an excellent way for technology companies to gain access to our technology. Nobody has to buy the company.
Lest we forget, Apple already owns PA Semi, another chipset manufacturer who designed the iPad’s A4 processor. Apple has issued no comment on the rumors.
