In its attempt to take over Qualcomm, semiconductor company Broadcom has proffered a “best and final offer” of $121 billion USD, which would be the largest tech acquisition in history if accepted.
Qualcomm responded that it would consider the offer, but declined to comment further.
The chipset giant was opposed to the original offer made by Broadcom of $103 billion USD in November 2017, calling it “dramatically undervalued.”
Broadcom is now offering $82 USD per share including $60 in cash and $22 in Broadcom stock. Its previous offer of $70 USD per share consisted of $60 in cash and $10 in stock. The increase in stock means Broadcom shareholders will have to vote on the offer.
The offer comes just as well-known Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities reports that Apple is planning to source modems solely from Intel, rather than dual-sourcing from both Qualcomm and Intel, as the Cupertino computing giant did in the past.
Apple is seeking to cut business ties with Qualcomm as the two companies battle in the courts over patent licensing issues.
Qualcomm has repeatedly asked stockholders to vote against a slate of board members Broadcom has nominated in a hostile takeover attempt. The vote will take place at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders on March 6th, 2018.
In January 2018, Qualcomm said that the resolution of current licensing disputes, growth in core business and a new $1 billion cost reduction program would lead to a strong bump in earnings per share in 2019.
Though the deal will likely face issues with regulatory approval, Broadcom says it its willing to sell two Qualcomm businesses — Wi-Fi networking processors and RF Front End chips for mobile — to resolve antitrust problems.
Broadcom also says it’s willing to pay Qualcomm a fee if the transaction is not completed within its target of 12 months, or a “reverse termination fee” if regulators nix the deal.
Qualcomm recently unveiled its Snapdragon 845 chipset, which is expected to grace the majority of Android flagships in 2018. The chipset giant also received approval to acquire semiconductor company NXP in Europe and Korea recently, though an activist investor is resisting the deal.
Via: Reuters
Image credit: Florian Knodt via Flickr
MobileSyrup may earn a commission from purchases made via our links, which helps fund the journalism we provide free on our website. These links do not influence our editorial content. Support us here.
