Broadcom & Qualcomm: Let's Get Ready to Proxy!

Broadcom's bid to takeover Qualcomm will come to a head on March 6, as Qualcomm shareholders effectively vote on Broadcom's unsolicited $103 billion bid for the chipmaker, by voting on whether to keep Qualcomm's board or boot them off the island.

Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM) is continuing to ask its stockholders to re-elect the current board this Tuesday. "Stockholders of record on January 8, 2018 will be entitled to vote at the meeting," which happens on March 6, Qualcomm said in a statement Tuesday.

Last week, Qualcomm raised its profit forecast and said that the Broadcom Corp. (Nasdaq: BRCM) bid undervalued the company. Now, Qualcomm is claiming that the potential board candidates selected by Broadcom and "its private equity backer, Silver Lake Partners" are not suitable to control Qualcomm. (See Qualcomm Raises Profit Forecast for FY19, Citing 5G & More.)

"If elected, these nominees -- who lack significant large-cap technology Board experience -- would be given control of one of the largest, most complex technology companies in the world," Qualcomm said in a letter.

In addition, Qualcomm claims that, "In over two months since making their hostile proposal, Broadcom hasn’t taken the necessary steps to start the regulatory approval process in most countries around the world."

Qualcomm has never shown any inclination to entertain Broadcom's bid anyway, so this proxy battle is likely to stay hot until March 6 whatever happens. (See Qualcomm Rejects Broadcom's Board Picks.)

— Dan Jones, Mobile Editor, Light Reading