Competition
EU Commission has concerns about Broadcom’s billion-euro acquisition
Exterior view of VMware headquarters in Palo Alto. The chip group Broadcom wants to strengthen its software business with the takeover of the cloud specialist. photo
© Paul Sakuma/AP/dpa
The chip group Broadcom wants to strengthen its software business with the takeover of VMware. But the EU Commission fears competitive disadvantages. Can the US group dispel the concerns?
The EU Commission has concerns about the planned takeover of the cloud specialist VMware by the US chip group Broadcom. The Commission announced on Wednesday evening that the preliminary view is that the planned takeover could restrict competition in the market for certain hardware components.
According to an examination, there is a risk that the US group Broadcom could make it difficult for competitors to access special software from VMware and would thus seal off the market from their hardware. Broadcom now has an opportunity to comment and address the Commission’s concerns.
Almost a year ago it became known that the chip group Broadcom wants to strengthen its software business with the takeover of VMware. At the time, Broadcom had offered $142.5 per share, which meant a total price of around $61 billion (around €55.5 billion). Broadcom should also take over $8 billion in debt from VMware. VMware specializes in cloud-based software for companies and was majority owned by the US computer group Dell Technologies until it was spun off in 2021.
Communication from the EU Commission