A Federal Trade Commission action to block a merger between Nvidia and Arm could cost SoftBank $74 billion.

The deal, agreed to in September 2020, would bring one of the world’s largest providers of chip technology, SoftBank-owned Arm, under the umbrella of a global leader in chip manufacturing.

Nvidia is a major provider of gaming hardware and software, offering graphics cards, gaming laptops, and gaming cloud software. Revenue from its gaming division rose 42% year-over-year in the third quarter to $3.2 billion.

The FTC said the merger would threaten Arm’s status as a neutral partner to chip producers. Arm estimated that its software is used in 25 billion chips per year.

“The combined firm would have the means and incentive to stifle innovative next-generation technologies,” the regulator wrote.

Nvidia, however, said that the merger would promote competition in the chip industry — and that the company would challenge the FTC suit.

• SoftBank, which bought Arm in 2016 for $32 billion, agreed to sell the company to California-based Nvidia for a package of cash and stock worth $40 billion at the time. 
• Nvidia’s stock price has more than doubled since then, bringing SoftBank’s potential haul from the sale to $74 billion.

SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 has invested at least $2.6 billion in sports and entertainment this year, and its Fortress Investment Group bought Accordia Golf for $3.5 billion last month.

Outdoor sporting goods retailer Sportsman’s Warehouse and Great Outdoors Group, the parent company of Bass Pro Shops, have terminated plans of a merger, according to a regulatory filing. 

Great Outdoors first agreed to acquire Sportsman’s Warehouse in December 2020 for roughly $800 million. The merger is now off following feedback from the Federal Trade Commission indicating the two companies would not receive clearance to close the deal. 

As a result, Great Outdoors will pay a $55 million termination fee to Sportsman’s Warehouse. 

It is believed the deal would not be approved due to a call for regulators to boost competition across all industries following an executive order signed in July by President Joe Biden. 

The regulatory pushback adds to a turbulent financial year for Sportsman’s Warehouse, which has a market value of $743 million. 

• The Utah-based company reported $361.8 million in sales in fiscal Q2 2021, down $19.2 million compared to the same period last year.
• The company saw same-store sales decrease 9.9% during the fiscal second quarter compared to fiscal Q2 2020.
• It attributed the lackluster performance in fiscal Q2 2021 to lower demand across its fishing, camping, hunting, and shooting categories. 

A privately held company, Great Outdoors generated $7.1 billion in revenue in the 12 months ended Sept. 26, 2020, according to investor service Moody’s. Great Outdoors merged with Cabela’s in 2017 in a deal valued at $4 billion.

Hibbett, Inc. posted a 15.2% year-over-year increase in third-quarter net sales to $381.7 million — up 38.6% from 2019.

Net income for the quarter reached $25.2 million, a slight decrease from the $25.3 million recorded during the same period last year.

The athletic apparel retailer attributed its growth in sales to increased market share, product availability, and improved customer engagement.

• Brick-and-mortar sales increased 11.6%. The company opened seven new stores and closed one during the quarter.
• Ecommerce sales jumped 22.3%, accounting for 14% of total net sales.
• President and CEO Mike Longo said the company saw “a higher average ticket, and a greater number of items purchased per transaction.”

Despite supply chain challenges, Hibbett recorded $258.8 million in inventory at the end of the quarter, up 22.8% from the same period last year. The retailer also ended the quarter with $29.7 million in cash and cash equivalents.

During the three months ending Oct. 30, Hibbett repurchased 1.4 million shares of common stock for a total of $117.8 million. The company plans to invest around $70 million of capital in growth opportunities during fiscal year 2022. 

Hibbett’s net sales have jumped 25.4% to $1.31 billion year-to-date, up from $1.04 billion last year.