Broadcom Inc. agreed to buy cloud-computing company VMware Inc. for about $61 billion in one of the largest technology deals of all time, turning the chipmaker into a bigger force in software.
VMware shareholders can choose to receive either $142.50 in cash or 0.2520 shares of Broadcom stock for each VMware share, according to a statement on Thursday. The offer represents about a 44% premium to VMware’s closing price on May 20, the last trading day before Bloomberg News reported potential takeover talks.
The purchase adds to a run of deals for the global tech industry this year. Microsoft Corp. agreed in January to buy video game publisher Activision Blizzard Inc. for $69 billion. A consortium backed by Vista Equity Partners is acquiring software maker Citrix Systems Inc. for $13 billion, and Elon Musk announced a $44 billion buyout of Twitter Inc. in April. The largest previous deal involving a chip-maker was AMD Inc.’s $34.1 billion takeover of Xilinx Inc.
Read more: BNN Bloomberg
