Broadcom Pledges 5G Investment to Win Approval of Qualcomm Deal
- 6 years ago
Broadcom Pledges 5G Investment to Win Approval of Qualcomm Deal
By MICHAEL J. de la MERCEDMARCH 7, 2018
The giant chip maker Broadcom pledged on Wednesday to keep the United States at the forefront of emerging mobile technology if it were to acquire
Qualcomm, its latest effort to allay the Trump administration’s national security concerns about its hostile $117 billion takeover bid.
That proactive move, all but unprecedented in the history of the panel, highlighted both how much the White House values the wireless technology known as 5G as a matter of national security
and its fears of falling behind China in the race to develop the standard.
The response came after the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, the government panel
that reviews transactions’ national security implications, ordered a delay of Qualcomm’s shareholder meeting as Broadcom sought to win a majority of the company’s board seats.
But while Broadcom is not Chinese — it is legally headquartered in Singapore,
and plans to relocate to the United States as soon as May — it has nonetheless incurred fears that it may erode Qualcomm’s lead in 5G.
In a statement, Broadcom said that, were it to complete what would be the largest technology deal in history, it would
not only maintain Qualcomm’s current spending on research and development but it would increase that amount.
By MICHAEL J. de la MERCEDMARCH 7, 2018
The giant chip maker Broadcom pledged on Wednesday to keep the United States at the forefront of emerging mobile technology if it were to acquire
Qualcomm, its latest effort to allay the Trump administration’s national security concerns about its hostile $117 billion takeover bid.
That proactive move, all but unprecedented in the history of the panel, highlighted both how much the White House values the wireless technology known as 5G as a matter of national security
and its fears of falling behind China in the race to develop the standard.
The response came after the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, the government panel
that reviews transactions’ national security implications, ordered a delay of Qualcomm’s shareholder meeting as Broadcom sought to win a majority of the company’s board seats.
But while Broadcom is not Chinese — it is legally headquartered in Singapore,
and plans to relocate to the United States as soon as May — it has nonetheless incurred fears that it may erode Qualcomm’s lead in 5G.
In a statement, Broadcom said that, were it to complete what would be the largest technology deal in history, it would
not only maintain Qualcomm’s current spending on research and development but it would increase that amount.