[Update]Broadcom rumored to acquire Qualcomm

Update: Broadcom has revealed its unsolicited proposal to acquire Qualcomm for $70.00 per share in cash and stock, and the transaction is valued at US$130 billion. If the deal goes through, it would become the largest technology acquisition in IT&C history.

Qualcomm has been in the spotlight for the last several years, be it due to its quality Snapdragon system-on-chip models that power the best smartphones and tablets, or some lawsuit against big companies like Intel and Apple. The company has had a tough time this year, as it got involved in an ongoing costly Apple lawsuit, so its latest Q4 2017 financial report does not look too good. Snapdragon chip sales were not affected, so Qualcomm is not really showing signs of weakness. However, according to Bloomberg, Broadcom is considering a merger with Qualcomm, in order to further consolidate the market. Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. analyst Stacy Rasgon indicates that a change of management at Qualcomm would also speed up the resolution of the Apple lawsuit, making the Snapdragon chip business more valuable in the process.

Broadcom is known for its networking products, as well as for ultra-low power CPU and GPU solutions like those that come with the Raspberry Pi DIY computers. The California-based company was acquired by Avago Technologies from Singapore last year. Qualcomm, on the other hand, is doing some acquisition work of its own, as it is in the process of absorbing NXP Semiconductor – a company that previously bought Freescale Semiconductor a few years ago.

The merger between Broadcom and Qualcomm would probably create one of the biggest chipmaker companies in the world, rivaling Samsung when it comes to the largest set of IPs. Since Qualcomm is mostly associated with its Snapdragon chips, the company is likely to retain its name, becoming the mobile SoC branch of Broadcom rather.

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