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Broadcom made a massive, albeit unsolicited bid for mobile processor specialist Qualcomm on Nov. 6. The company is offering $70 per share of Qualcomm stock (in cash and stock), or a whopping $130 billion, to snap up the chip designer that helped spark the mobile revolution.
If the bid is accepted, it will be the largest technology acquisition in history, beating the $67 billion mega-merger between Dell and EMC.
Shares in Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM), briefly touched $64.99 after the announcement from a previous close of 61.81. As of this writing, prices are hovering around the $63.
“This complementary transaction will position the combined company as a global communications leader with an impressive portfolio of technologies and products. We would not make this offer if we were not confident that our common global customers would embrace the proposed combination,” said Hock Tan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Broadcom, in a statement. “With greater scale and broader product diversification, the combined company will be positioned to deliver more advanced semiconductor solutions for our global customers and drive enhanced stockholder value.”
Qualcomm, meanwhile, is evaluating the offer.
“The Qualcomm Board of Directors, in consultation with its financial and legal advisors, will assess the proposal in order to pursue the course of action that is in the best interests of Qualcomm shareholders,” stated the company in a separate Nov. 6 announcement. “Qualcomm will have no further comment until its Board of Directors has completed its review.”
Broadcom is no stranger to blockbuster deals. In 2015, the semiconductor company was acquired by Avago Technologies for $37 billion. The combined company is now known as Broadcom Limited.
Broadcom and Qualcomm aren’t the only chip companies making news today.
Intel and AMD Team Up
Also on Nov. 6, arch-rivals Intel and AMD announced that they are partnering to produce a multi-chip processor package that will enable device makers to manufacture slim and lightweight PCs with high-performance graphics capabilities.
The solution will combine Intel’s eight-generation Core processor technology with a “semi-custom” AMD Radeon graphics chip and second-generation High Bandwidth Memory (HBM2). The solution will also be the first consumer-class product to use Intel’s Embedded Multi-Die Interconnect Bridge (EMIB) technology, which enables high-speed communications between chips.
Scott Herkelman, vice president and general manager of the Radeon Technologies Group at AMD, said the partnership “expands the installed base for AMD Radeon GPUs and brings to market a differentiated solution for high-performance graphics. Together we are offering gamers and content creators the opportunity to have a thinner-and-lighter PC capable of delivering discrete performance-tier graphics experiences in AAA games and content creation applications,” in a statement.
Pedro Hernandez is a contributing editor at Datamation. Follow him on Twitter @ecoINSITE.
