The European Commission is investigating the $61 billion Broadcom-VMware merger.
The regulatory arm of the European Union said it was notified of the deal and expects to deliver its initial decision on 20 December.
The investigation is in what’s called “phase one” and many deals are approved afterwards. However, the agency can elect to take a more detailed “phase two” look and there were rumours that the Commission wants to take the Broadcom-VMware merger to the second base.
Broadcom was not too worried that the regulator might squash the deal even if the last time Broadcom tangled with the European Commission, it settled a case in which regulators accused the company of giving illegal rebates to customers who signed exclusive supply agreements for its semiconductors.
“We are confident that this deal does not present any competition issues and look forward to working with the European Commission throughout this process. We continue to make progress with our various regulatory filings around the world and expect the transaction to be completed in Broadcom’s fiscal year 2023. The combination of Broadcom and VMware will give customers choice and greater flexibility to address their most complex IT infrastructure challenges.”
In the US, the Federal Trade Commission informed Broadcom in July that it was engaged in a more rigorous “second request” investigation, which can extend the time it takes to close a deal by weeks or months.
Broadcom has said that it expects the deal to close by 31 October 2023.
