SoftBank Group’s planned acquisition of US-based chip designer Ampere Computing for $6.5 billion overcame a major obstacle, with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) halting a probe into the tie-up which started back in July.

The FTC’s website indicated it granted early termination of the investigation into the proposed merger last week.

The agency opened a formal probe known as a second request for information, raising concerns the deal could be blocked.

In March, SoftBank reached a deal to acquire the chipmaker, which makes processors for servers.

The merger requires clearance by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US.

Analysts say the acquisition will strengthen SoftBank’s AI infrastructure strategy and complements its Arm chip unit by integrating high-performance, energy-efficient server processors based on the Arm architecture.

SoftBank owns a majority stake in UK-based chip design company Arm.