Qualcomm Rejects $105B Bid From Broadcom

Qualcomm's board said Monday morning that it has unanimously rejected Broadcom's $105 billion hostile takeover bid.

Last Monday, Broadcom Corp. (Nasdaq: BRCM) launched an unsolicited $105 billion cash and stock bid to take over its wireless rival (a deal valued at $130 billion once Qualcomm's debt is take into account). The bid is the largest ever seen in the tech world, dwarfing Dell's $67 billion takover of EMC in 2015. (See Broadcom Offers $130B for Hostile Takeover of Qualcomm and Dell-EMC-VMware Merger Could Push Comms to Kids' Table.)

"It is the Board's unanimous belief that Broadcom’s proposal significantly undervalues Qualcomm relative to the Company's leadership position in mobile technology and our future growth prospects," said Paul Jacobs, executive chairman of Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM), in a statement.

Qualcomm cites everything from its 5G evolution, to its silicon position in networking, IoT, mobile edge, and more, for confidence in its future growth. The chipmaker reported better than expected $5.96 billion revenue for its fiscal fourth quarter on November 1, despite a continuing legal battle with Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) over cellular chip payments. (See Apple Trying to Drop Qualcomm – Report.)

Qualcomm is saying that the "proposal is not in the best interests of shareholders," ahead of a likely proxy battle, where Broadcom would try to appeal directly to Qualcomm investors. Bloomberg reports that Broadcom CEO Hock Tan was ready for this even before the bid was rebuffed.

This could also mean a higher offer from Broadcom to encourage Qualcomm shareholders. The company, however, hasn't yet responded to Qualcomm's rejection of its bid.

Broadcom's stock was trading down 0.52% at $263.58 on the news, while Qualcomm's share price edged up 1.3% to $65.41 in Monday morning trading.

— Dan Jones, Mobile Editor, Light Reading