The dark satanic rumour mill has manufactured a hell on earth yarn that semiconductor vendor Broadcom is on the verge of making a $130 billion grab for rival chip maker Qualcomm.
If it goes through, it would be the the largest technology takeover in history and Broadcom is said to be readying an assault on publicly listed Qualcomm and planning to offer shareholders $70 a share.
Bloomberg claimed that the Qualcomm board is likely to advise shareholders to reject the deal, pointing out that the potential deal could run into regulatory problems.
Broadcom is in the process of closing its $5.5 billion acquisition of Brocade, while Qualcomm is struggling through regulatory scrutiny to complete its $38bn deal for Dutch semiconductor vendor NXP.
The Financial Times is reporting that Broadcom wants NXP, as well as Qualcomm.
Qualcomm’s share price rose as much as 14 percent when the news broke.
Broadcom and Qualcomm have confirmed the offer, with Broadcom disclosing that the bid of $70 a share is made up of $60 cash and $10 in Broadcom shares. The overall deal is valued at $130bn.
Broadcom also said that its offer stands regardless of whether the NXP deal goes through or is terminated.
Qualcomm said its board of directors is currently reviewing the offer.
