Broadcom abandons plans to buy Qualcomm following US government bar

Broadcom "disappointed with the outcome" after Trump barred Broadcom's proposed takeover of Qualcomm on national security grounds

Broadcom has formally abandoned its pursuit of rival Qualcomm following an order signed by US President Donald Trump earlier this week barring it from buying the US semiconductor company.

The company explained that it has scrapped talks with Qualcomm and will not seek to use forthcoming board elections to try and fill Qualcomm's board with its own nominees - a move it had been planning in a bid to persuade stockholders to go over the head of the Qualcomm board.

Broadcom said it was "disappointed with the outcome", but had no choice to drop plans when President Trump intervened this week.

Trump said that the government had come across "credible evidence" that a merger between the two companies "threatens to impair the national security of the US".

That followed a report by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) warning that key technology could fall into the wrong hands if the deal were to go through.

However, Broadcom hit back, saying it "strongly disagrees that its proposed acquisition of Qualcomm raises any national security concerns".

In a statement, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin supported the decision. He said: "This decision is based on the facts and national security sensitivities related to this particular transaction only."

He added that the government is not trying to "make any other statement about Broadcom or its employees, including its thousands of hard working and highly skilled US employees".

Broadcom, though, had struggled to make the case for its proposed deal, with Qualcomm claiming that its bid drastically undervalued the company and, especially, the potential of its 5G mobile communications technology.

As part of its attempts to persuade Qualcomm stockholders, and US government and regulators Broadcom promised to shift its headquarters to the US. This, though, failed to convince CFIUS.

The firm added that it will "continue to move forward with its redomiciliation process" and will "comply" with the US government's decision.