Is Apple planning to to buy Arm for $8 bn?

BANGALORE, INDIA: Apple, which posted a stunning financial result, is reportedly interested in acquiring ARM Holdings, the Cambridge England firm that licenses the majority of the world's mobile chip designs.

According to media reports, the iPad maker wants to take chip design in house and looking at the possibility of taking over ARM. In 2008, Apple had bought chip specialists PA Semi and used its designs in the iPad. As of now, Apple is ARM's biggest customer.

ARM Holdings has apparently been valued at $8 billion by Apple and the rumours have prompted a rally around the shares of the Cambridge-based company which rose by eight percent, said a report. And the rumour has helped the chip designer's share value, which rose 1.8 per cent to 243p as news of the link circulated.

ARM was founded in a 1990 partnership among Apple, UK computer maker Acorn and chip fab VLSI Technologies. Later, Apple discontinued the the Newton line in the late 1990s and chief executive Steve Jobs began selling Apple's shares of ARM in an effort to balance the company's books.

However, Apple came back as a customer of ARM processors, when it launched the iPod in 2001, and has consistently used ARM processors for iPods, iPhone and iPad. And that is what probably made Apple to look at the potential of buying ARM.