American semiconductor firm Broadcom has raised its takeover bid for the telecommunications equipment company Qualcomm to $82 a share, CNBC reported on Monday. The new offer comes ahead of Qualcomm's shareholder meeting set for March 6. The offer will mark the largest chip deal in history if accepted.
In January, Broadcom announced its bid of $70 per share to acquire the telecommunications giant. The offer included the of $60 per share in cash and $10 in stock. However, after the semiconductor company had a meeting with its advisers over the weekend, Broadcom decided to up the offer by $12 per share and also offer a higher breakup fee, the report stated, citing sources close to the matter.
Broadcom believes the acquisition can be completed within the year after the agreement is reached and the deal is signed. If Qualcomm's takeover is successful, the deal will help Broadcom to achieve market dominance in the 5G wireless technology since Qualcomm manufactures chips that are used by mobile carries to transmit broadband and data. Qualcomm has previously said Broadcom's offer was seriously undervalued.
