Chip maker Broadcom on Monday raised its offer to acquire rival Qualcomm with just more than one month until a crucial vote by Qualcomm shareholders.
Broadcom, which is headquartered in Singapore but plans to officially relocate to Delaware, offered $82 per share, up from its initial offer of $70 per share in November.
The company still plans to offer $60 per share in cash but increased its stock offering from $10 per share to $22 per share. Reports said the change raised the price from $105 billion — which would already be the largest merger in tech sector history — to more than $120 billion.
Broadcom also vowed to increase the cash amount if a merger agreement is not wrapped up after one year and said it would pay a “significant” termination fee if a deal is quashed by regulators.
“Broadcom believes this offer is vastly superior to Qualcomm’s standalone prospects … and remains hopeful the Qualcomm board of directors will act responsibly on behalf of Qualcomm stockholders and engage with Broadcom on this offer without further delay,” the company said in a statement.
Qualcomm acknowledged receiving the revised offer and said it would not comment until a review of the proposal is completed. The San Diego chip giant, however, strongly opposed the initial offer to Broadcom as too low and rife with antitrust concerns.
Reports said last year that prominent Qualcomm shareholders could be intrigued by an offer of at least $80 per share, and the latest offer follows a report of sharply lower income amid the company’s licensing fight with Apple.
Broadcom has offered its own slate of candidates for Qualcomm’s board at the company’s March 6 shareholders meeting. Qualcomm executives are opposed to those candidates and nominated its incumbent board members.
Broadcom called the revised proposal its “best and final offer” and said it would walk away if an agreement is not in place following the shareholders meeting and its board candidates are rejected.
“We believe any responsible board would engage with us, without further delay, to turn this proposal into an executed definitive agreement,” Broadcom wrote in a letter to Qualcomm’s board.
