China likely to probe more U.S. tech deals after Nvidia review – report

China’s antitrust regulator is likely to review more technology deals after it began an inquiry into Nvidia’s (NVDA) 2020 purchase of Mellanox Technologies last week related to potential antitrust regulations.

The Nvidia-Mellanox probe came after the U.S. Commerce department’s move to tighten restrictions of American chipmaking technology to China, according to a report from The Information on Tuesday, which cited people familiar with the matter. China’s State Council and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs agreed to use the antitrust reviews as a rebuke for the tighter export controls.

China’s State Administration for Market Regulation, the main antitrust regulator, is already “dragging out” Synopsys (NASDAQ:SNPS) planned $35 billion acquisition of Ansys (ANSS), according to the report. SAMR is also now reexamining two past deals that involve Coherent (COHR), which was formerly known as II-VI. Shares of Coherent fell 4.3% on Tuesday.

SAMR is allowed to reopen any past cases that required conditional approvals on the idea that they have breached the original conditions.

“The regulatory approval process is proceeding as expected in relevant jurisdictions, including China,” Synopsys told the publication.

Synopsys (SNPS) submitted an application for the Ansys (ANSS) deal on Dec. 6 and the regulator told Synopsys on Dec. 9 that it will delay reviewing the case because the application materials were insufficient, two people familiar told The Information.

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