TOKYO, Feb 8, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - Japan's SoftBank confirmed Tuesday the collapse of a $40 billion deal to sell chip business Arm to Nvidia over regulatory challenges, as it reported a net profit in the third quarter.

In a statement, SoftBank said the sale had been scrapped after "significant regulatory challenges" arising from concerns the deal would undermine competition.

The announcement came as the telecoms firm-turned-investment giant reported a net profit of 29.0 billion yen ($251 million) in the third quarter, a sharp drop from the 1.17 trillion yen logged in the same three-month period in the previous financial year.