Broadcom completes $69 billion acquisition of VMware

Broadcom has announced that after clearing all regulatory hurdles it now plans to complete its $69 billion acquisition of VMware. Broadcom is paying $61 billion in cash and stock for VMware and taking on $8 billion of its debt, making this one of the biggest technology deals ever. It took 18 months for Broadcom to get all the regulatory approvals. The deal became final just days before the merger agreement was due to expire.   

The deal, one of the biggest globally when announced in May 2022, was the latest in CEO Hock Tan's efforts to boost the chipmaker's software business. However, the transaction faced tough regulatory scrutiny across the world and the companies had delayed the closing date three times.

The European Commission had approved the acquisition after Broadcom offered remedies to help rival Marvell Technology while the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) gave its green light following an in-depth investigation.

"The improved mood music after the meeting between China's President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden earlier this month helped to settle remaining nerves," Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, said after the companies said they planned to close the transaction on Nov. 22.

"Perhaps we will see some boards being willing to move forward now that we have seen the (Activision Blizzard) and (VMware) get blessing, but don't think we can count on it," said Cabot Henderson, market strategist at JonesTrading.