In what has to become one of the biggest ICT deals ever, American chip company Qualcomm has rejected the bid of no less than 121 billion dollars from its American counterpart Broadcom.
Yeah, the numbers are just dazzling. Qualcomm concluded the offer of $82 per share in cash and shares is too low, as announced this Friday. Moreover, the current offer would be too risky and therefore not in the interest of the shareholders. Qualcomm says it is open to further discussions.
The company calls it positive that Broadcom wants to meet possible divestments that are required to comply with the competition rules. At the same time Broadcom would refuse to comply with other possible requirements of the regulators. In addition, Broadcom would insist on making important decisions about the issue of Qualcomm licenses in the period between the signing of the deal and the completion of the acquisition. “This would be problematic and not allowed under the competition rules,” Qualcomm says.
The board of Qualcomm says it wants to protect its shareholders from the “substantial risks of agreeing to a transaction that can not take place”. The compensation that Broadcom promises to take away from the takeover would not cover these risks by any means.
Qualcomm has recently rejected a bid of $105 billion. This bid of $70 per share, according to the company, was not even worth considering. Qualcomm now proposes to increase the value for shareholders, regardless of whether this can be achieved as an independent group or as part of another company.
Qualcomm itself is engaged in a takeover of the Dutch company NXP Semiconductors. The European Commission has set a number of conditions for this, but the takeover could happen for an amount of 47 billion dollars. Qualcomm is the dominant maker of microprocessors for mobile phones, and has faced a series of antitrust investigations in several countries over its market power.
