“U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm Inc is making preparations to reject rival Broadcom Ltd’s $103 billion bid as early as this week, four people familiar with the matter said on Sunday,” Greg Roumeliotis and Liana B. Baker report for Reuters. “Qualcomm’s board of directors could meet as early as Sunday to review the unsolicited acquisition offer and decide on its strategy, the sources said.”
“Qualcomm Chief Executive Steven Mollenkopf has spent the past few days soliciting feedback from Qualcomm shareholders, and feels that Broadcom’s $70-per-share bid undervalues the company and does not price in the uncertainty associated with getting the deal approved by regulators, according to the sources,” Roumeliotis and Baker report. “Broadcom CEO Hock Tan, who said earlier this month he would redomicile his company to the United States from Singapore, has stated he is open to launching a takeover battle. The sources said Broadcom was preparing to submit a slate of directors by Qualcomm’s Dec. 8 nomination deadline. That would allow Qualcomm shareholders to vote to replace the company’s board and force it to engage with Broadcom.”
“Broadcom has also been deliberating the possibility of raising its bid for Qualcomm, including through more debt financing, some of the sources said, although it was not clear when Broadcom would choose to make such a move,” Roumeliotis and Baker report. “Qualcomm provides chips to carrier networks to deliver broadband and mobile data. It is engaged in a patent infringement dispute with Apple Inc…”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Takeover battle royal!
Good luck to Broadcom. Perhaps a change in management would bring some sanity to Qualcomm and allow them to stop their FRAND abuse and finally ink a fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory deal with Apple.
SEE ALSO:
Broadcom plans unsolicited $90 billion bid for Qualcomm – November 3, 2017
Yes I hope Broadcom immediately sacks the current clueless covetous CEO upon acquisition and sends him out to EOL pasture.
Broadcom might want to wait until Qualcomm loses its lawsuits against Apple and Apple wins its lawsuits against Qualcomm. I imagine that Qualcomm stock will suddenly get a lot cheaper.
Plus, looking at the longer term, Apple appears determined to eliminate Qualcomm as a supplier, which would reduce Qualcomm’s revenue by 7.5% based on a recently posted estimate. Apple can broaden its use of Intel chips and is also reportedly developing its own silicon in-house. Either way, Qualcomm is likely on the way out over the next few years.
(Shhhh, but after Qualcomm loses and its price tumbles, expect an Apple hostile takeover! Don’t tell anyone!) 😉
I once worked for AT&T and you can guarantee the board members will take the offer. Everyone AT&T would approach would sell, as they big boys could collect millions & walk away without a care in the world about the minions below. Yeah, they stay on for 6 months, to tell everyone it’s a great partnership, but then zooom, gone when the cuts come in.