Broadcom CEO seeks to convince EU on $61 bln VMware deal (updated)

VMware

05/05/2023 09:18

(Adds Broadcom CEO declines comment, VMware president)
    By Foo Yun Chee
       BRUSSELS, May 5 (Reuters) - U.S. chipmaker Broadcom's
 AVGO.O  Chief Executive Hock Tan on Friday will try to convince
EU antitrust enforcers that his proposed $61 billion bid for
cloud computing firm VMware  VMW.N , which has triggered
scrutiny on both sides of the Atlantic, is pro-competitive.
    Tan, flanked by his executives and lawyers, arrived early
Friday morning in Brussels for a closed hearing on one of the
biggest tie-ups in the history of the technology sector. He
declined to comment as he headed into the hearing.
    Tan will present his arguments to senior European Commission
officials, including its deputy director general for mergers
Guillaume Loriot, and their counterparts from national
competition agencies as well as lawyers from the EU executive.
    VMware President Sumit Dhawan will appear remotely at the
hearing. There are no other third parties at the hearing.
    Broadcom's request for the hearing came after the Commission
last month warned the deal may restrict competition in the
market for certain hardware components which interoperate with
VMware's software.
    The company had hoped that regulators would consider the
presence of Amazon  AMZN.O , Microsoft  MSFT.O  and Google
 GOOGL.O  in the cloud computing market as proof of strong
competition, other people familiar with the matter told Reuters
last year.
    Broadcom is expected to offer remedies in the coming days
after the oral hearing. The EU deadline for a decision is June
21, which will be extended once concessions are submitted.

 (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by David Gregorio and Conor
Humphries)
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