Qualcomm urges shareholders to vote against Broadcom takeover

Qualcomm’s board has advised shareholders in a letter to vote against the acquisition by Broadcom. There will be a vote next week on installing a new board to speed up the takeover.

The letter to shareholders has been published on Qualcomm’s website. In the letter, Qualcomm’s board explains in bold terms how it has operated in recent times with regard to Broadcom’s takeover bid. The current board believes that Broadcom’s takeover offer is undervalued and therefore members will not agree to the offer. Broadcom then tries to replace the board members at the upcoming shareholders’ meeting in order to initiate a takeover. Qualcomm’s current board calls the proposed members incompetent.

In a shareholders’ meeting on March 6, a vote will be taken on the replacement of the board members. If successful, Broadcom will likely be stronger with its takeover bid, which currently stands at about $117 billion. Broadcom has proposed 6 new members to the 11-member board.

Qualcomm and Broadcom have been engaged in a takeover battle for a long time, with various amounts on the table. Qualcomm’s board has always spoken out against the acquisition amount, citing potential difficulties in getting the acquisition approved by authorities. Despite this, several talks have been held between the two boards, but so far this has led to nothing.