Trump rejects Broadcom deal

President Trump issued an executive order on Monday blocking Broadcom from acquiring Qualcomm, scuttling a $117 billion deal that had been subject to crutiny on national security grounds. It would have been the biggest-ever technology takeover in history.

In a letter to the two companies on Sunday, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States said that it believes the offer by Broadcom poses national security concerns. Broadcom’s headquarters is Singapore, but is in the process of relocating its legal base to San Jose to allay those issues.

Broadcom has had a months-long quest to buy its fellow chipmaker, but the federal committee had already ordered a one-month delay of Qualcomm’s shareholder meeting, where Broadcom had been expected to win at least some seats on Qualcomm’s board, if not a majority.

Several deals involving foreign buyers have been squelched after similar reviews, including Moneygram’s sale to an affiliate of the Alibaba Group and Lattice Semiconductor’s sale to an investment firm with reported ties to the Chinese government.