Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware closes after China approval

Broadcom has announced it will be going ahead with its merger with Vmare after securing the last remaining regulatory approval from China.

The merger, valued at $69 billion, was under intense scrutiny due to concerns that the merged entity could potentially abuse its market position and stifle competition. However, regulators ultimately concluded that the deal would not significantly harm competition.

“Broadcom has received legal merger clearance in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, Israel, Japan, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and foreign investment control clearance in all necessary jurisdictions,” Broadcom said in a statement.

In order to get approval from the Chinese regulators Broadcom had to agree not to abuse its market position and ensure that VMware servers remain compatible with alternative third-party hardware providers.

The approval from China will come as a relief to stakeholders in the company who might have been worried about the current geopolitical tension between China and the US. The Biden administration has been very aggressive about controlling the export of high-end chips from the US to China.

Broadcom will now operate under the VMware brand following the acquisition. The merger is a significant milestone in the technology industry, consolidating two major players in the cloud computing and software space.