broadcom going to take a little longer than expected to close the VMware purchase transaction. This has been reflected in a communication sent by VMware to the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission, that is, the Securities and Exchange Commission) of the United States.
In said communication it is stated that both Broadcom and VMware they have mutually agreed to extend the period which will elapse until the closing of the operation on a date that will be twelve months after the merger agreement signed by both companies: May 26, 2023. In other words, according to this new date, the purchase of VMware will be closed before May 26, 2024. With this extension, both companies have an additional period of 90 days to formalize the purchase.
Broadcom has signaled several times that it intends to close the deal before the end of its current financial year on October 30. However, he has agreed to give a deadline eight months later. For now, neither of the two companies has given a reason for this extension of the term, although it seems that it may be due to the fact that various organizations want to review the operation, or are already doing so.
On the one hand, the European Commission is reviewing the purchase agreement to make sure that the operation does not pose a threat to competition. This investigation has been slightly delayed, and members of the review committee hope to have a verdict on their investigation by June 7, according to Reuters.
In addition, the United Kingdom has assured that it will give its first verdict on the agreement before March 22. However, a possible derivative of said investigation is to open a second, longer and more exhaustive one. As for the United States Federal Trade Commission, it has yet to announce the dates on which it will communicate its decision on it.
So this extension, which gives VMware and Broadcom the time they need to organize the paperwork related to the deal and get it all done before the deadline they’ve now set, makes sense. Broadcom continues to express its decision to buy VMware. Its CEO, Hock Tan, continues to mention the deal on social media, giving details about what the purchase agreement will look like and sharing articles he’s written about it. In addition, she holds question-and-answer sessions and shares third-party articles in favor of the settlement.
