: VMWare, Broadcom shares rise as U.K. competition authority clears deal

A previous version of this article gave incorrect information on U.S. regulatory proceedings.Following an “in-depth” Phase 2 investigation, the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on Monday cleared Broadcom Inc.’s AVGO $69 billion buy of VMware Inc. VMW. In a statement, the CMA said it “provisionally found that Broadcom’s proposed purchase of the seller of software products VMware would not substantially reduce competition in the supply of server hardware components in the U.K.” The panel also concluded that the deal was unlikely to hurt innovation. EU competition authorities last month cleared the deal, which was first announced in May 2022, In a statement, Broadcom said that it expects the transaction will close on Oct. 30, 2023 as expected, and that the deal has been cleared in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Israel, South Africa and Taiwan, with foreign investment control clearance in all necessary jurisdictions. “In the U.S., the Hart-Scott-Rodino pre-merger waiting periods have expired, and there is no legal impediment to closing under U.S. merger regulations,” the tech group said. It added that it “continues to work constructively with regulators in other jurisdictions and is in the advanced stages of the process toward obtaining the remaining required regulatory approvals,” which it expects will be received before October 30, 2023. Broadcom shares rose 1.5% on Monday, while VMware stock climbed 4%.

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