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Broadcom confirms $103bn slurp offer for rival Qualcomm

They're super keen to get it done ASAP

Broadcom has confirmed its multibillion-dollar bid for Qualcomm, revealing more details of the $103bn all-cash-and-shares offer to buy out its rival chipmaker.

As reported on El Reg last week, Broadcom's offer comprises $70 per share, which we now know is a fact, and made up of $60 in cash and $10 in stocks.

"Given the complementary nature of our products, we are confident that any regulatory requirements necessary to complete a combination with Qualcomm will be met in a timely manner," said Broadcom CFO Thomas Krause in a canned quote. He added: "We look forward to engaging immediately in discussions with Qualcomm so that we can sign a definitive agreement and complete this transaction expeditiously."

Silver Lake Partners, one of Broadcom's private equity backers, has offered $5bn in debt financing for the transaction. The $70/share proposal "represents a significant premium of 28 per cent to the closing price of Qualcomm common stock on November 2, 2017," as Qualcomm said in a letter to Broadcom shareholders published today.

Both Qualcomm and Broadcom are specialists in system-on-chip products, putting ARM-compatible silicon into various items such as smartphones, fondleslabs and so on. This naturally extends to the very widely drawn world of the Internet of Things, which all chipmakers regard as the future of chip sales and manufacture.

It's a bold move by Broadcom. Qualcomm has, among other things, sued Apple, attracted the interest of antitrust authorities in America, and earned the enmity of Intel, another megacorp built on silicon. On the flip side, it's profitable and is itself in the middle of its own multibillion-dollar buyout of a rival.

Broadcom most recently bought fibre channel switch biz Brocade for $5.9bn. ®

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