The Orange County Register reports
Irvine chipmaker Broadcom Corp. will be purchased by Singapore-based Avago Technologies Ltd. for $37 billion, making the deal the biggest technology acquisition ever.
The two companies said they expected the deal to produce $750 million in savings over the first 18 months of their union. The new company will take Broadcom's name, Avago's CEO, Hock Tan, will retain his leading role in the newly combined enterprise.
[...] The purchase of Broadcom, the biggest maker of Wi-Fi chips for short-range connections in mobile devices, will create the world's sixth-largest chipmaker in terms of revenue. The deal is the latest in a round of consolidation in the $300 billion industry as the rising costs of production and design push manufacturers to combine.
[...] Broadcom is closing its unit that makes modem chips for mobile phones. That is reducing losses and expenses in a business that failed to gain significant market share from Qualcomm Inc.
Have any Soylentils had dealings with Avago which indicate that (notoriously closed) Broadcom will now become more open?
[Editor's Comment: Original Submission]
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Broadcom is looking to broaden its markets with the purchase of Brocade Communications Systems:
Broadcom Ltd. agreed to buy Brocade Communications Systems Inc. for $5.5 billion, expanding beyond its main business in chips to add boxes that help connect storage systems to computers in data centers.
Broadcom, one of Silicon Valley's most aggressive acquirers, said it plans to sell Brocade's other communications technology businesses to avoid competing with companies that now buy Broadcom chips.
The deal stands to help Broadcom reduce its reliance on sales of wireless chips for smartphones, a market that has slowed lately. Apple Inc., its largest customer, in October said it sold 45.5 million iPhones in the quarter ended in September, 2.5 million fewer than a year earlier.
Also at NYT, Reuters, Broadcom.
Broadcom was itself bought by Avago Technologies for $37 billion in 2015. Avago then renamed itself Broadcom.
Broadcom Considering Unsolicited $105 Billion Bid to Acquire Qualcomm
Broadcom is deciding whether to proceed with the largest-ever attempted acquisition of a chipmaker:
Broadcom Ltd. is considering a bid of more than $100 billion for Qualcomm Inc., according to people familiar with the matter, in what would be the biggest-ever takeover of a chipmaker. Broadcom is speaking to advisers about the potential deal, said the people, who asked not to be identified because talks are private. The offer of about $70 a share would include cash and stock and is likely to be made in the coming days, the people said. A final decision on whether to proceed has not been made, they said.
[...] Qualcomm finds itself in a weakened state. A legal battle with Apple is costing revenue and jeopardizing a business model that for years made Qualcomm one of the most successful chipmakers. Before today, its shares had slumped 16 percent this year, compared with a 41 percent surge in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. A change of management at Qualcomm might help resolve the dispute with Apple more quickly, and thereby make Qualcomm's licensing and chip businesses more valuable, according to Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. analyst Stacy Rasgon. Earlier this week, Qualcomm executives said the legal process would "proceed under the court's schedule," indicating no resolution soon.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 29 2015, @05:58PM
Yay Asian backdoors
(Score: 2) by present_arms on Friday May 29 2015, @06:07PM
As opposed to British, American or Russian back doors? If there is one, firewall the bastard.
http://trinity.mypclinuxos.com/
(Score: 4, Funny) by Nerdfest on Friday May 29 2015, @06:10PM
Please don't forget Canadian back doors. Of course, we knock first.
(Score: 2) by present_arms on Friday May 29 2015, @06:15PM
It was just the first 3 that came in to my head :)
http://trinity.mypclinuxos.com/
(Score: 2) by tibman on Friday May 29 2015, @06:48PM
Don't forget Poland!
SN won't survive on lurkers alone. Write comments.
(Score: 5, Informative) by LoRdTAW on Friday May 29 2015, @06:22PM
It's an old semiconductor division from HP that was spun off with Agilent then bought out by two investment firms, incorporated in Singapore and jointly headquartered in Singapore and California.
How much of it is Asian vs American is quite blurred. Though, they have been busy buying out everyone in the semi business.
(Score: 2) by davester666 on Friday May 29 2015, @06:45PM
who doesn't like being backdoored by an Asian?
(Score: 2) by present_arms on Friday May 29 2015, @06:55PM
Speak for yourself :P
http://trinity.mypclinuxos.com/
(Score: 3, Funny) by dmbasso on Friday May 29 2015, @07:46PM
I see, you're eagerly waiting for the growth of African... semiconductors!
`echo $[0x853204FA81]|tr 0-9 ionbsdeaml`@gmail.com
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 30 2015, @12:01PM
Man, this comment opened up a whole can of ... well, it's a big hole.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by kaszz on Friday May 29 2015, @07:23PM
So will this mean more super secret API interfaces a la Broadcom?
Will they fuck up the Raspberry Pi dealings?
How has Avago behaved business wise in the past?
(Score: 4, Informative) by frojack on Friday May 29 2015, @08:16PM
I've always hated having to fetch a binary blob just to get my Broadcom wifi to work. This used to immediately taint the kernel and was a large pain in the ass.
Amm because they were to cheap to provide 30k of on chip storage to hold their own firmware.
Last I recall linux is still required to extract the firmware from the Windows drivers with fwcutter. At least that bit is automated these days in most distros.
Do i exp
expect any improvement? No.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by gnuman on Saturday May 30 2015, @12:31AM
The two companies said they expected the deal to produce $750 million in savings over the first 18 months of their union.
So about 750-1000 people will lose their jobs?