Broadcom Raises Its Qualcomm Offer to $121 Billion

Broadcom Raises Its Qualcomm Offer to $121 Billion
Broadcom raised its takeover bid for the rival chip maker Qualcomm to about $121 billion on Monday, piling pressure on Qualcomm
to agree to what would be the technology industry’s biggest-ever takeover and one that could affect the future of smartphones.
Broadcom went after Qualcomm’s business model on Monday in a voluminous set of slides,
and has indicated it would seek to make peace with Apple, which is a major Broadcom customer for other types of wireless chips.
Qualcomm’s management team and board have consistently argued
that Broadcom’s takeover approach is opportunistic since it is unfolding during Qualcomm’s bruising legal fight with Apple, as well as priced too low.
Consumers have a stake in the contest, because Qualcomm is likely to be closely tied to the performance of future
handsets — particularly a new generation of wireless technology called 5G — and prices that users may pay.
Broadcom’s move would create a tech giant whose products would be used in nearly all of the world’s smartphones.
Whether a deal goes ahead, however, remains an open question: Qualcomm’s leadership fiercely opposes it, while analysts have said
that even if shareholders approved the deal, it could be rejected on antitrust grounds.
Samsung also now appears to be siding with Qualcomm, which last week announced a new patent deal with the South Korean company
and Samsung’s agreement to stop opposing Qualcomm in court proceedings in the country.