The United Kingdom's competition and markets authority is requesting feedback regarding Nvidia's acquisition of Arm Holdings as it prepares to begin official review of the deal's potential competitive effects.

The $40 billion purchase of the U.K.-based chip designer by the U.S.-based chipmaker, which was announced last September, has generated a variety of domestic issues – concerning the effects on employment in the U.K., industrial strategy and economic independence, and even national security – however, the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) investigation will concentrate exclusively on potential impacts related to competition.

The organization stated today that the investigation will likely assess whether Arm, following the acquisition, might be motivated to “limit access, increase prices, or diminish the standard of its IP licensing services for Nvidia’s competitors”, as outlined in a press statement.

The CMA is requesting that interested parties submit comments on the acquisition by January 27 – prior to the commencement of its formal investigation. This initial phase 1 review will provide further opportunities for external feedback, according to the regulator, which has not yet announced a date for its decision regarding the acquisition.

Additional information is available on its case page — here.

Andrea Coscelli, the CMA’s chief executive, commented in a statement: “The chip technology sector is a multi-billion dollar industry and essential to many of the products we utilize daily. We will collaborate closely with other competition authorities globally to thoroughly evaluate the deal’s consequences and guarantee that consumers do not experience higher costs or reduced product quality.”

Hermann Hauser, the original founder of the company, is among those expressing concerns about the potential impact of an Nvidia-Arm takeover on the U.K.

In September, he sent a letter to the prime minister expressing his “significant worry” regarding the effects on U.K. jobs, Arm’s business operations, and the country’s future economic independence.

A website established by Hauser to collect signatures of opposition — savearm.co.uk — reports that over 2,000 signatures had been gathered as of October 12.

In addition to the CMA, several other international regulatory bodies will be examining the deal, with Nvidia anticipating the approval process to take 1.5 years in September.

The company has attempted to address U.K. concerns by stating it will reinforce its commitment to the country as a central component of its engineering initiatives by expanding Arm’s facilities in Cambridge — where it intends to create “a new worldwide hub for excellence in AI research”.

Regarding broader national security concerns linked to the Nvidia-Arm deal from certain sources, the CMA indicated that the U.K. government could issue a public interest intervention notice “if deemed necessary”.

Arm was initially acquired by Japan’s SoftBank for approximately $31 billion in 2016.

The subsequent agreement to sell the chip designer to Nvidia involves both cash and stock – and included an immediate $2 billion cash payment to SoftBank. However, the majority of the transaction’s value is scheduled to be paid in Nvidia stock upon completion of the deal, subject to regulatory approvals.