Broadcom Gets EU Antitrust Approval on VMware Acquisition Deal
(Bloomberg) -- Broadcom Inc. secured EU antitrust approval on Wednesday for its $61 billion proposed acquisition of cloud computing firm VMware Inc. after offering remedies to help rival Marvell Technology Inc. compete “on equal footing.”
The European Commission said Broadcom’s commitments include providing Marvell with access to its Fibre Channel Host-Bus Adapters (FC HBAs), a kind of storage adapters. The commission said the remedies will ensure that Marvell will be able to compete with Broadcom in the market for FC HBAs.
The deal, Broadcom’s largest ever, would help the chipmaker diversify into enterprise software. VMware provides software that helps businesses manage their data centers and cloud computing environments.
The EU approval is a major step forward for the deal, which is still subject to regulatory review in the U.S. and the UK. Broadcom and VMware expect the deal to close in the second half of 2023.
In a statement, Broadcom CEO Hock Tan said the company was “pleased” with the EU approval. “This is a significant milestone for our proposed acquisition of VMware, and we look forward to working with the European Commission to finalize the transaction,” Tan said.
Marvell CEO Matt Murphy said the company was “pleased” with the EU’s decision. “We believe that these remedies will ensure that Marvell will be able to compete effectively in the market for FC HBAs,” Murphy said.
The EU approval is a positive sign for Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware. However, the deal is still subject to regulatory review in the U.S. and the UK, and it is possible that the deal could be blocked by regulators in those countries.