Broadcom Expects To Complete $61bn VMware Deal On Weds

Chipmaker Broadcom said it expects to close its mammoth $61 billion (£49bn) acquisition of VMware on Wednesday, after receiving legal clearance from regulators around the world.

The company made the announcement after receiving conditional approval from China earlier on Tuesday.

China’s anti-monopoly regulator said it had approved the deal with “restrictive conditions”, including allowing interoperability between VMware’s servers and other third-party hardware providers.

In July the European Commission similarly approved the deal after Broadcom in May offered EU officials “interoperability remedies” relating to chip rivals such as Marvell.

Regulatory probes

The EC said its approval was “conditional upon full compliance with the commitments offered by Broadcom”.

The deal had triggered other regulatory probes around the world, including in the US and the UK.

The UK regulator initially said in March it would oppose the merger, but eventually approved it in July.

It had been feared that China might hold up the merger amidst increasing Sino-US tensions, after the US brought in new export controls targeting the country in October.

Layoffs

Broadcom earlier said it expected the deal to close at the end of October, but later shifted the date back to 26 November.

The company is expected to carry out extensive job cuts after completing the deal, and VMware in October began job cuts in anticipation of the merger closing, according to social media posts by fired employees.

“I’ve been pretty good at avoiding uncertainty, mergers, bankruptcies, etc. for over 23 years in IT, but now 2023 has some sad news for me,” wrote VMware employee Nigel Hickey on LinkedIn.

“Starting today, no more wandering in the unknown, I’m looking for new opportunities.”