Qualcomm today said Broadcom’s acquisition offer simply isn’t good enough as currently proposed.
The companies met earlier this week to go over some of the finer points of Broadcom’s $121 billion bid to purchase Qualcomm, and Qualcomm still came away leery that the deal won’t work out. To start, Broadcom reiterated that its offer of $82 per share is its best offer, a figure that Qualcomm insists undervalues the company.
Further, Qualcomm said Broadcom resisted the idea of agreeing to “commitments that could be expected to be required by … government regulatory bodies.”
Moreover, Broadcom refused to discuss how it would treat Qualcomm’s licensing business, a matter that would make predicting antitrust-related issues difficult. Broadcom insisted on controlling all materials regarding the licensing business between signing the deal and closing the deal — something Qualcomm says violates antitrust laws.
Last, Qualcomm called Broadcom’s breakup fee, should the deal not pass regulatory muster, far short of what might be needed to compensate Qualcomm stockholders for the risks involved. Qualcomm concluded by saying,
“The current Broadcom proposal is unacceptable.”
As it did earlier, however, Qualcomm left the door open for Broadcom to improve its offer. Qualcomm said it would meet with Broadcom again should Broadcom up the ante and make more assurances concerning the risks involved.
