Broadcom to buy Qualcomm for $100 billion?

Late last week a rumor popped up that Qualcomm will soon receive a takeover bid from Broadcom. Word on Wall Street is that the latter is planning to bid $100 billion for Qualcomm, which would make it the largest-ever acquisition of a chip maker. Shares of Qualcomm closed 12.71 percent higher on Friday in anticipation of the bid. Bloomberg reports investors can expect an offer valued at about $70 per share, which will include a cash and a stock component.

Broadcom Chief Executive Officer Hock Tan is a voracious acquirer, and he’s played a key role in a wave of consolidation engulfing the $300 billion semiconductor industry over the last three years. Broadcom, created in 2016 when Avago Technologies Ltd. acquired Broadcom Corp. for $37 billion, has built itself from a former Hewlett Packard division into one of the largest chipmakers via a string of purchases. Tan has said he wants more deals, a strategy that could be limited by opposition from U.S. regulators.