Broadcom Lowers Offer for Qualcomm, Citing 'Value Transfer'

By Austen Hufford

Broadcom Ltd. lowered its offer to buy Qualcomm Inc. by about $4 billion in response to Qualcomm raising its offer to buy NXP Semiconductors NV.

Qualcomm on Tuesday raised its offer to buy NXP Semiconductors to $44 billion, from about $39 billion, and locked up support from key stakeholders.

Wednesday, Broadcom, which had opposed the increased offer for NXP, said in a securities filing Wednesday that it would lower its own bid for Qualcomm, citing the "value transfer" to NXP shareholders. Broadcom said its per-share offer of $79 consists of $57 a share in cash and $22 a share in stock. The proposal would be worth about $117 billion, compared with the $121 billion offer that had been on the table.

However Broadcom said it would revert to its previous $121 billion bid if the NXP deal doesn't go through.

Qualcomm didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Qualcomm and Broadcom have been maneuvering for months around what could be the largest tech deal ever.

Broadcom Chief Executive Hock Tan had previously stressed the company's offer for Qualcomm was dependent on the target not raising its price for NXP but recently softened his position, and the latest move Wednesday showed that he still wants the deal to succeed.

Broadcom and Qualcomm are headed toward a March 6 showdown in which Qualcomm shareholders are scheduled to vote on a slate of directors nominated by Broadcom.

In another recent concession, Mr. Tan reduced his number of candidates from 11 to six, seeking a majority rather than trying to unseat the entire Qualcomm board.

Write to Austen Hufford at austen.hufford@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 21, 2018 09:53 ET (14:53 GMT)

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