Broadcom adds a few billion to its indecent proposal to Qualcomm

Chip slinger Broadcom has turned up the heat on its hostile bid to take over rival Qualcomm today, with the semiconductor biz expected to raise its offer by between $15bn-$40bn (£10.7bn-£28bn).

Reuters and The Financial Times have respectively reported the Singapore-based firm will slap between $120bn (£85bn) and $145bn (£103bn) on the table to purchase the Snapdragon-maker.

Qualcomm had previously rejected Broadcom's $103bn (£73bn) buyout proposal, which it said "dramatically undervalued" the company.

But Broadcom appears to be drumming up support for a new deal ahead of a shareholders' referendum next month.

Qualcomm's processors power the vast majority of Android handsets, while Broadcom's notable products include the SoC at the heart of the Raspberry Pi.

If the two were to merge, it would create a semiconductor colossus. Last year Qualcomm turned over $22.3bn (£15.6bn), while Broadcom posted sales of $17.6bn (£12.5bn).

Some commented that the deal from Broadcom might be seen as opportunistic, as Qualcomm has faced a series of issues.

Last month, the European Commission fined Qualcomm €997m (£872m) for abusing its dominant market position by paying Apple billions to exclusively use its chipsets.

Qualcomm said it will appeal against the decision, adding that it is confident the expired agreement with Apple "did not violate EU competition rules or adversely affect market competition or European consumers."

The US chip biz is also finishing off its own slurp of NXP Semiconductors for $47bn (£33bn), which European antitrust regulators have already waved through. ®