SoftBank poised to lose $74-bn payday if Arm deal is halted

With SoftBank Group Corp.’s sale of Arm Ltd. to Nvidia Corp. in severe jeopardy, the company faces the prospect of losing a jackpot of roughly $74 billion. And its consolation prize is uncertain.
 

U.S. antitrust officials sued to block the takeover on Thursday, arguing it will stifle innovation in the chip industry. Nvidia has vowed to press ahead, but the transaction also faces reviews from U.K., European Union and Chinese regulators -- as well as opposition from Arm’s own customers -- and Wall Street analysts are all but calling the deal dead. 

That leaves SoftBank in a quandary. Nvidia had