It only took a week for Qualcomm to reject the $130 billion buyout offer from rival Broadcom, but despite the setback, Broadcom still seems determined to make a deal happen.
After a unanimous vote by its board of directors to send Broadcom packing, chairman of the board Paul Jacobs said that "Broadcom's proposal significantly undervalues Qualcomm relative to the company's leadership position in mobile technology and our future growth prospects."
Qualcomm's presiding director Tom Horton reiterated the undervaluation assertion, saying the company had thoroughly reviewed the Broadcom proposal and consulted with its legal and financial teams. He also said that the proposal "comes with significant regulatory uncertainty," which contributed to the rejection of the offer.
CEO Steve Mollenkopf said that the company expects to provide "significant additional value" for shareholders through its mobile and IoT offerings, as well as the prospect of 5G networking in the near future.
For its part, Broadcom appears to be undaunted. CEO Hock Tan said in a statement:
"This transaction will create a strong, global company with an impressive portfolio of industry-leading technologies and products, and we have received positive feedback from key customers about this combination. We continue to believe our proposal represents the most attractive, value-enhancing alternative available to Qualcomm stockholders and we are encouraged by their reaction. Many have expressed to us their desire that Qualcomm meet with us to discuss our proposal. It remains our strong preference to engage cooperatively with Qualcomm's board of directors and management team."
As of mid-day trading today, Qualcomm stock sat at $65.72, or slightly under $5 less than the $70-per-share Broadcom bid.
Qualcomm has been embroiled in numerous lawsuits with Apple over the course of the year. The legal battles, coupled with a huge antitrust fine, pushed company profits down 90% from Q4 last year.
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