Broadcom is reportedly moving forward with its attempt to purchase chipmaker Qualcomm, by increasing its bid for the company to about $121 billion and $82 per share, described as a "final offer." The new offer comes three months after Broadcom's first bid for Qualcomm, originally valued at about $105 billion ($70 per share), plus $25 billion of net debt (via Bloomberg).

If the acquisition goes through it would still be considered the "largest-ever technology deal," although Qualcomm's board previously rejected the first offer and is said to have "dug in" against threats of potential hostile takeovers. With the increased offer, Broadcom now hopes to put pressure back on Qualcomm to accept the deal and "improve prospects" for Broadcom CEO Hock Tan to be nominated to Qualcomm's board should the deal go through.

broadcom qualcomm

Broadcom Ltd. has raised its bid for Qualcomm Inc. to about $121 billion, in an attempt to force what could be the largest-ever technology deal. The new offer of $82 a Qualcomm share will be Broadcom’s final offer, according to a statement Monday. The deal would take the form of $60 in cash and the remainder in Broadcom shares.

Broadcom’s hostile bid for the larger San Diego-based company is the latest and most audacious move by Tan in a string of deals that have made his company one of the world’s largest suppliers of semiconductors. He wants Qualcomm for its leading smartphone modem chip division, an example of what he calls a “franchise” that will continue to dominate.

If completed, Broadcom would become the third-largest chipmaker in the world, behind Intel and Samsung Electronics, and the combined Broadcom-Qualcomm business would "instantly become" the default provider of certain components required to build more than one billion smartphones sold every year. The acquisition would eclipse Dell's $67 billion purchase of EMC in 2015, considered at the time the biggest in the technology industry.

Qualcomm is said to be pushing back against such acquisition offers because it see its own future to be "much brighter as a standalone company," further stating that it's "on the cusp" of entering new product markets. At the same time, Qualcomm has been in a legal battle with Apple for over a year now, after Apple accused Qualcomm of charging unfair royalties for "technologies they have nothing to do with" and failing to pay for quarterly rebates.

Throughout the lawsuits, Apple eventually considered removing Qualcomm modems from its devices altogether moving forward, and the latest report from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo pointed towards Intel-only modems for the 2018 iPhones.

Top Rated Comments

whyamihere Avatar
89 months ago
"The deal would take the form of $60 in cash and the remainder in Broadcom shares."

My goodness, how on earth can they turn down 60 dollars in cash up front! Maybe I should offer a crisp $100 bill!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ke-iron Avatar
89 months ago
Qualcomm better sell, when all their high profile customers leave for the opposition, they will be left in the dust and forced to downsize and eventually file bankruptcy. Remember that chip maker or something like that who got too comfortable with Apple? Apple let them know years in advance that they were going to stop using their products and they didn’t take them seriously. I can’t remember the exact story but Apple is leaving Qualcomm things will be going downhill from there.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
thisisnotmyname Avatar
89 months ago
With various regulatory attention they're getting recently, US suppliers (Apple certainly but others have made their opinions known as well) seemingly unhappy with them, and their China strategy rumored to face headwinds with China's desire not to have them establish a monopolistic position I'm surprised any increase was offered. There's a lot of IP there but that landscape changes relatively quickly and their former business practices are under fire globally. Broadcom obviously has people looking at this much more deeply than I but I'm still surprised.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
makr Avatar
89 months ago
Qualcomm better sell, when all their high profile customers leave for the opposition, they will be left in the dust and forced to downsize and eventually file bankruptcy. Remember that chip maker or something like that who got too comfortable with Apple? Apple let them know years in advance that they were going to stop using their products and they didn’t take them seriously. I can’t remember the exact story but Apple is leaving Qualcomm things will be going downhill from there.
Yeah Imagination Technologies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imagination_Technologies
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
thisisnotmyname Avatar
89 months ago
Yeah Imagination Technologies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imagination_Technologies
The same could be said for the group manufacturing sapphire that had all their eggs in one basket, invested heavily in capacity for expected Apple demand, then folded dramatically when Apple didn't meet the expected demand. I know there's a second side to that story with Apple having quite demanding contracts to achieve the capacity regardless of whether Apple fully utilized or not but the fact remains, having a significant portion of your business (which is generally 10%+ even though I believe in some of these examples Apple was far higher) is a large risk.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 18

Apple Seeds Second Release Candidate Versions of iOS 18.2 and More With Genmoji, Image Playground and ChatGPT Integration

Monday December 9, 2024 10:06 am PST by
Apple today seeded the second release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS 15.2 updates to developers and public beta testers for testing purposes, a week after releasing the first RCs. The first iOS 18.2 RC had a build number of 22C150, while the second RC's build number is 22C151. Release candidates represent the final version of beta software that's expected to see a ...
iOS 18

Here Are Apple's Full Release Notes for iOS 18.2

Thursday December 5, 2024 11:48 am PST by
Apple seeded the release candidate version of iOS 18.2 today, which means it's going to see a public launch imminently. Release candidates represent the final version of new software that will be provided to the public should no last minute bugs be found, and Apple includes release notes with the RC launch. The iOS 18.2 release notes provide a look at all of the new features that are coming...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature

iPhone 17 'Air' Expected to Be ~2mm Thinner Than iPhone 16 Pro

Friday December 6, 2024 4:07 pm PST by
In 2025, Apple is planning to debut a thinner version of the iPhone that will be sold alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. This iPhone 17 "Air" will be about two millimeters thinner than the current iPhone 16 Pro, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The iPhone 16 Pro is 8.25mm thick, so an iPhone 17 that is 2mm thinner would come in at around 6.25mm. At 6.25mm,...
New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Friday December 6, 2024 4:42 am PST by
Apple is set to release iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. There are a handful of new non-AI related feature controls...
iPhone SE 4 Single Camera Thumb 3

iPhone SE 4 Said to Feature 48MP Rear Lens, 12MP TrueDepth Camera

Monday December 9, 2024 4:48 am PST by
Apple's forthcoming iPhone SE 4 will feature a single 48-megapixel rear camera and a 12-megapixel TrueDepth camera on the front, according to details revealed in a new Korean supply chain report. ET News reports that Korea-based LG Innotek is the main supplier of the front and rear camera modules for the more budget-friendly ~$400 device, which is expected to launch in the first quarter of...
Generic iOS 18

When Is iOS 18.2 Coming Out?

Tuesday December 10, 2024 1:43 am PST by
The next iOS 18.2 update featuring more substantial Apple Intelligence features will be released to the public before the holidays, according to Apple, but we have a more definite timeframe from other sources. In a newsroom article dated October 28 highlighting Apple Intelligence capabilities, Apple states that "new ‌Apple Intelligence‌ features will be available in December." Then in...
airpods pro 2 gradient

AirPods Pro 3 Expected Next Year: Here's What We Know

Thursday November 28, 2024 3:30 am PST by
Despite being released over two years ago, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 continue to dominate the wireless earbud market. However, with the AirPods Pro 3 expected to launch sometime in 2025, anyone thinking of buying Apple's premium earbuds may be wondering if the next generation is worth holding out for. Apart from their audio and noise-canceling performance, which are generally regarded as...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

MacBook Pros With OLED Displays Won't Have a Notch, Roadmap Shows

Monday December 9, 2024 7:36 am PST by
Apple plans to remove the notch from the MacBook Pro in a few years from now, according to a roadmap shared by research firm Omdia. The roadmap shows that 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models released in 2026 will have a hole-punch camera at the top of the display, instead of a notch. It is unclear if there would simply be a pinhole in the display, or if Apple would expand the iPhone's...
vipps nfc tap to pay iphone

World's First Apple Pay Alternative for iPhone Launches in Norway

Monday December 9, 2024 1:28 am PST by
Norwegian payment service Vipps has become the world's first company to launch a competing tap-to-pay solution to Apple Pay on iPhone, following Apple's agreement with European regulators to open up its NFC technology to third parties. Starting December 9, Vipps users in Norway can make contactless payments in stores using their iPhones. The service initially supports customers of SpareBank...