EU Antitrust Body Clears Avago's Acquisition of Broadcom
November 23 2015 - 7:53AM
Dow Jones News
By Laurence Norman
BRUSSELS--The European Union's antitrust body said Monday it had
cleared the acquisition of U.S.-based Broadcom Corp. (BRCM) by
Singapore-based Avago Technologies Ltd. (AVGO), saying the merger
wouldn't affect competition among semiconductor manufacturers in
Europe.
Both companies are global manufacturers of semiconductors, which
are used in a wide variety of products including mobile phones,
computers, cars and domestic appliances.
"Thanks to very good cooperation with the companies, the
Commission has been able to approve this multi-billion-dollar
takeover within a very short space of time while preserving
effective competition in this crucial high-technology sector," said
European competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager in a press
release.
Avago had already moved to address the EU's key competition
concern about the merger by signing agreements with companies it
supplies intellectual property to, specifically the provision of
technology for allowing fast data transmission between chips.
These agreements ensure the firms, which are competitors of
Broadcom, will continue to have access to the information on
reasonable terms.
Write to Laurence Norman at laurence.norman@wsj.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 23, 2015 07:38 ET (12:38 GMT)
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