Qualcomm deal is dead, but Broadcom coming to the US anyway
Incorporating in the US will make it easier for the chipmaking giant to buy other companies.
President Donald Trump killed Broadcom's $117 billion bid to buy Qualcomm, the world's largest chipmaker for smartphones, but that won't stop Broadcom from looking for more deals.
Broadcom, which is based in Singapore, will incorporate its business in Delaware next month. While the chipmaking giant has operations in the US, it moved its "domicile" of incorporation to Singapore in 2016 when Broadcom merged with Avago. Initially announced last November, Broadcom is expected to complete redomiciliation in the US on April 4.
Incorporating in the US paves the way for Broadcom to buy other American companies because it will escape the jurisdiction of the Committee for Foreign Investment in the US, or CFIUS, which looks at deals between foreign and US companies.
CIFIUS' involvement directly led to Trump's blocking the Broadcom-Qualcomm deal over security concerns. "Reduction in Qualcomm's long-term technology competitiveness and influence in standard setting would significantly impact US national security," CFIUS said in its recommendation to the president.
Broadcom officially withdrew the offer two days after the president signed his ban, but had it passed, Broadcom's takeover would have been the largest tech acquisition ever.