U.S. Asks Qualcomm to Delay Meeting for National Security Review of Broadcom Bid
By CHAD BRAYMARCH 5, 2018
American regulators have asked the giant chip maker Qualcomm to delay an annual shareholder meeting to give them more time to
investigate whether a takeover bid by Broadcom, a Singapore-based rival, would threaten United States national security.
Broadcom had sought to pave the way for its hostile bid by changing its headquarters to the United States, an announcement
that the chief executive, Hock Tan, made alongside President Trump at the White House last year.
Broadcom’s attempted takeover of Qualcomm, initially unveiled in November, would be the largest technology deal
in history, creating an industry giant whose products would be in a majority of the world’s smartphones.
The surprise move by a government panel that scrutinizes deals by foreign companies comes amid a charged political atmosphere
in which scrutiny of takeovers of American companies by international challengers has increased drastically.
It has asked Qualcomm to delay the election of directors by 30 days to give it time to “fully investigate”
the proposed deal, according to an emailed statement from the Treasury Department.
Qualcomm’s leadership fiercely opposes the Broadcom offer, saying it “materially undervalues” the company, and analysts have said for months
that even if shareholders approved it, it could be rejected on antitrust grounds
The government panel, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, scrutinizes deals for national security concerns.
