It has been 13 months since Nvidia first announced its $6.9 billion acquisition of Mellanox, and it’s now one step closer to completing the deal after Chinese authorities gave the all clear.
The acquisition of Mellanox is a key part of Nvidia’s strategy to expand its presence in the data centre market, with the Israeli firm known for its Ethernet and InfiniBand-based data centre networking products. It also sells cables and BlueField system-on-chip models.
Since the acquisition was announced, Mellanox has also proven itself a good deal for Nvidia. The company has grown revenue by 22% to $1.33 billion, while net income jumped 48% to $394 million. The firm also managed to buy network intelligence startup Titan IC during the whole process.
The Chinese government had no objections to the acquisition, although it noted that it required that the companies wouldn’t add bundles or other unreasonable requirements when selling devices in China.
Approval from Chinese regulators is the last major hurdle for the company, European regulators had already signed off the acquisition back in December, while US authorities decided not to investigate the transaction.
Nvidia anticipates the deal closing in a week’s time, with April 27, 2020, set to be the date that Mellanox becomes a subsidiary of Nvidia.
