Qualcomm's Board Rejects Broadcom's $121 Billion 'Best and Final Offer'
Qualcomm’s board rejected Broadcom’s “best and final offer” of $121 billion (see 1802050042), saying in an open letter Friday that it “materially undervalues Qualcomm and has an unacceptably high level of risk, and therefore is not in the best interests…
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of Qualcomm stockholders.” It left open the possibility of additional negotiations, calling a Wednesday meeting at which Broadcom repeated its $82 per share offer “constructive,” with Broadcom representatives expressing a willingness to agree to “certain potential antitrust-related divestitures beyond those contained in your publicly filed merger agreement.” Broadcom continued to resist agreeing to other commitments that could be required by regulatory bodies, including the FTC, the European Commission and China’s Ministry of Commerce, the Qualcomm board said. It also said Broadcom declined to respond to questions about its intentions for Qualcomm’s licensing business, “which makes it very difficult to predict the antitrust-related remedies that might be required.” Broadcom has insisted on controlling material decisions for Qualcomm’s licensing business during the period between signing and a potential closing, “which would be problematic and not permitted under antitrust laws,” it said. The board is open to further discussions with Broadcom “to see if a proposal that appropriately reflects the true value of Qualcomm shares, and ensures an appropriate level of deal certainty, can be obtained.”