Daily Management Review

Trump blocks the Qualcomm-Broadcom deal


03/13/2018


US President Donald Trump issued a decree blocking Broadcom Ltd’s hostile acquisition of Qualcomm Inc. The deal worth $ 117 billion was carefully analyzed for the threat to US national security, reports Bloomberg.



Maurizio Pesce
Maurizio Pesce
Trump was advised by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which considers the acquisition of American firms by foreign investors.

The decision was made only a few hours after the CEO of the Singapore Broadcom Hock Tan met with officials in the Pentagon in the last attempt to save the deal, which would become the largest in the history of the technology sector.

"There is strong evidence that leads me to believe that Broadcom Ltd.," acquiring Qualcomm, "can take action that threatens to damage the national security of the United States," Trump said in a decree published on Monday night in Washington.

Broadcom said it was considering this decree and that the company "strongly disagrees" that its offer to acquire Qualcomm creates any problems for national security.

In November, Broadcom made an attempt to absorb Qualcomm, estimating the company at $ 105 billion. Broadcom offered to pay $ 70 per share of its competitor: $ 60 in cash and $ 10 with its shares.

However, Qualcomm rejected the Broadcom proposal, informing shareholders that this transaction underestimates the company and is "accompanied by significant regulatory uncertainty."

Subsequently Broadcom increased its offer to buy its rival.

Attempted hostile takeover of Qualcomm was Tan's last and bold move in a series of transactions that turned Broadcom into one of the world's largest suppliers of semiconductors. Qualcomm, however, states that its prospects as a separate company are much brighter.

Meanwhile, Broadcom is moving its headquarters from Singapore to the United States. The company announced this in November, after Tan met Trump at the White House. Broadcom said after the meeting that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States approved Broadcom's takeover of Brocade Communications Systems, subject to the relocation of the headquarters.

On Monday, Tan went to the Pentagon to meet with the committee officials and discuss their concerns. Tan argued that the integration of Broadcom and Qualcomm will actually contribute to US interests, promoting the development of the standard of wireless 5G networks, says an interlocutor of Bloomberg, who is familiar with the details of the meeting.

source: bloomberg.com