Broadcom seeks to convince EU antitrust regulators on $61 bln VMware deal

VMware

05/05/2023 06:00

By Foo Yun Chee
       BRUSSELS, May 5 (Reuters) - U.S. chipmaker Broadcom
 AVGO.O  on Friday will try to convince EU antitrust enforcers
that its proposed $61 billion bid for cloud computing company
VMware  VMW.N , which has triggered regulatory scrutiny on both
sides of the Atlantic, is pro-competitive.
    The company will present its arguments to senior European
Commission officials and their counterparts from national
competition agencies as well as lawyers from the EU executive at
a closed 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)
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