South Korea-based chipmaker SK Hynix was tipped to be exploring a move for chip design company Arm after a takeover of the UK-based company by Nvidia collapsed last month.

The Korea Herald reported SK Hynix vice chairman and co-CEO Park Jung-ho told the media it was mulling the formation of a consortium to acquire Arm, which is owned by SoftBank Group.

Park reportedly made the comments following a SK Hynix shareholder meeting.

Earlier in the week, the SK Hynix chief said he would travel to the US to discuss a potential deal for Arm as early as April, The Korea Herald wrote.

SoftBank and Nvidia pulled the plug on the proposed tie-up due to regulatory challenges.

Data from TrendForce showed SK Hynix was the world’s second-largest memory chip maker in Q4 2021, with nearly a 30 per cent share.

During the shareholders’ meeting, Park reportedly stated SK Hynix is “willing to work together with any partners, if they are competitive, transcending the boundaries of nations and industries to drive growth”.

He noted a planned SK Hynix R&D centre to be built in the US will be a place “where we collaborate with global ICT leaders”.

In 2021, SK Hynix announced plans to invest KRW1 trillion ($824.4 million) to build the facility.

Park also is head of SK Square, an investment spin-off from its core telecom unit.