Broadcom officially withdraws $117B Qualcomm offer

From CNET: Broadcom, which makes chips for everything from TV set-top boxes to servers, has withdrawn its $117 billion bid to acquire Qualcomm, the world's largest maker of chips for smartphones, according to Reuters. The move comes two days after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order blocking the merger, effectively killing the deal.

The withdrawal marks the end of the twisting soap opera that was Broadcom's pursuit of Qualcomm. Singapore-based Broadcom had hoped to create a chip juggernaut by merging the two businesses, but Qualcomm initially fought the takeover, arguing the offer wasn't sufficient. In the last few weeks, San Diego-based Qualcomm warmed up to the idea of a merger, but still argued for a higher price tag.

The intervention by the Treasury Department's Committee on Foreign Investment in the US, or CFIUS, and by President Trump came, in an unusual turn of events, even before a deal was struck between the two companies. Trump cited national security as his reason for killing the deal, with CFIUS specifically warning about the lack of a major US player in 5G, the next-generation of wireless technology.

Broadcom told Reuters that it had withdrawn its slate of independent director nominees for Qualcomm's annual shareholder meeting.

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