Qualcomm seeks security review
WASHINGTON: United States chipmaker Qualcomm postponed its annual shareholders’ meeting after secretly requesting a national security review of Broadcom’s bid to take over the company, said the Singaporebased Broadcom on Monday.
Qualcomm shareholders were due to meet yesterday, but Broadcom said it was informed on Sunday night that Qualcomm filed a voluntary request on January 29 for US regulators to investigate the deal, and was ordered to postpone the meeting for 30 days.
“It should be clear to everyone that this is part of an unprecedented effort by Qualcomm to disenfranchise its own stockholders,” said Broadcom.
Qualcomm accused Broadcom of trying to mislead shareholders and “trivialise” US regulatory and national security issues.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) can review any acquisition by a foreign corporation of a US firm that may have an impact on national security, and can recommend the president block the deal.
CFIUS issued an order to Qualcomm for the shareholder meeting to be delayed for 30 days to allow time to investigate the proposed acquisition by Broadcom, said US Treasury Department.
Broadcom said it would cooperate with the review, but rejected any national security concerns since it is a US-controlled company, and is in the process of relocating its headquarters back to the US.
If finalised, the BroadcomQualcomm tie-up, estimated at US$117 billion (RM468 billion), would be the largest merger in a sector awash with consolidation amid the development of technologies for autonomous vehicles and 5G mobile services.
Meanwhile, Broadcom is on course to win all six of the seats it’s seeking on Qualcomm’s board, giving it a majority to push with its hostile takeover even as a US government panel forced a delay of the final tally amid concerns about the deal’s threats to national security.