Reinventing the Millennium

Yike and Apple were engaged in patent litigation with Qualcomm. Avago took the opportunity to jump out and make a hostile acquisition of Qualcomm. Then Intel and Yike attempted to jointly acquire Broadcom. After Broadcom lost a CEO, the new CEO turned around and had an affair with Qualcomm. Get up...

lively! It’s so lively!

I thought it was just a excitement related to patent monopoly. Unexpectedly, in just two months, one after another M\u0026A drama appeared in front of me.

The Chinese media spent a lot of time just sorting out the main context of the incident. As for delving into the details of the past few months, it would require multiple reports. However, Mr. Fang rushed to America, and it was true that he was going to the Three Treasures Palace for nothing. As soon as he arrived there, the situation was stirred up.

I heard that Mr. Fang also attended the appeal hearing, but I don’t know what it looks like now.

On June 23, the stock prices of Qualcomm and Broadcom, which were reported to be successfully negotiated, both rose. The former has risen by 11.4% in the past few days, while the latter has risen by 19%.

It seems that Qualcomm's timely intervention really found a good time.

And Broadcom...

Why did it turn to Qualcomm when it was already negotiating with Intel and Yike?

There is only one answer, Qualcomm’s bid is higher.

Blanche, the new CEO, also doesn't mind if the company is acquired. However, compared to the two companies that former CEO Sturt hooked up with, the weak Qualcomm needs this acquisition more, so it is easier to negotiate the price.

As for who has better development space, now they have to sell themselves. Of course, the most important thing is price.

Qualcomm made a good bid and said it was open to talks, but those two companies are currently facing a dilemma due to public opinion and are very hesitant. The choice is naturally obvious.

The company's market value hit a three-month high, returning to US$76 billion, which made Jacob feel extremely good. Seeing that there was no movement at Avago in Singapore made him feel even better.

Although Avago has received support from many financial institutions, its own strength is not strong enough after all. As long as the merger between Qualcomm and Broadcom is successful, Chen Fuyang will never be able to stand in front of him again.

Broadcom had a market capitalization of US$28 billion before its stock price rose due to the news of mergers and acquisitions. Broadcom and Qualcomm are complementary in business, and there will definitely be an effect of 1 plus 1 being greater than 2. This will definitely allow Qualcomm to cross 100 billion again. dollar mark.

$100 billion! Can Chen Fuyang afford this?

Absolutely impossible!

As long as the offensive from Avago is successfully resolved and the reorganized Qualcomm wins the patent lawsuits with Yike and Apple, the crisis that has been sweeping the country for several months will be completely resolved!

Jacob even wanted to thank Mr. Fang. The reason why he changed his strategy to acquire Broadcom this time was inspired by the joint actions of Intel and Yike, and the communication foundation laid by these two companies with Broadcom was also used by Qualcomm.

It was only in the past few days that Jacob learned about the efforts of the previous two companies. Not only was Fang Zhuo, the head of Yike, and Brian, the head of Intel, actively promoted, but even Microsoft's Ballmer also participated. and among them.

These people communicated secretly, obviously expecting some resistance, and wanted to finalize things that could be finalized in advance.

Jacob was even more frightened and felt happy.

This year's Qualcomm shareholder meeting is on July 2. Although there are still small differences with Broadcom on price, in order to show the sincerity of the cooperation between the two parties, he plans to invite CEO Blanche to the scene as a declaration. A complete defeat of an outside hostile takeover.

However, as if in a desperate struggle, Avago issued another acquisition offer on the last day of June. Compared with the second offer of $85 billion, this time it was raised to $89.5 billion.

This is already US$14.5 billion higher than the US$75 billion first proposed. This is definitely not a small number.

However, the merger between Qualcomm and Broadcom was imminent. Jacob convened the board of directors to discuss and evaluate, and it took almost no time to make the easiest decision.

reject.

Chen Fuyang was rejected for the third time.

However, after being rejected this time, he did not remain silent as before. Instead, he directly asked Avago to submit a new board of directors list to Qualcomm as a minority shareholder of Qualcomm and requested a vote at the shareholders' meeting.

"Jacob and others are completely unable to judge the direction of industry development, and the current board of directors is completely unable to represent the interests of all shareholders. We demand the re-election of the board of directors!"

"In particular, Jacob, the CEO, is also extremely incompetent. He has almost offended the three major customers in the high-end mobile phone market. If it were not for Samsung's own problems, Qualcomm would now be surrounded by the three companies."

"I must warn Qualcomm that the company has reached a very dangerous situation. Jacob does not have the ability and courage to lead the smooth development of the company!"

Chen Fuyang gave Qualcomm a eloquent notice and named Jacob again.

Jacob didn't panic, he just felt that this person was really a clown, and this request for re-boarding was just an act to vent his anger. How could he win at Qualcomm's home court?

As it turns out, there were no surprises.

Two days later, Qualcomm held a shareholder meeting to discuss major decisions and future plans. Jacobs introduced the development and challenges of the past year, and also talked about the changes in the competitive situation in the industry. Then he introduced Broadcom CEO Blanche who was present. , enthusiastically explained the wonderful scene after the merger of the two companies.

So many things, and finally came the proposal of minority shareholder Anhua Gao to re-elect the board of directors.

The results came out quickly, and the proposal failed miserably. Only 7% of the shareholders who voted on the spot supported it. Everyone felt that the current board of directors and CEO Jacob had found a new development route, and it was natural that this second generation would be in charge of the company.

Jacob sat on the stage and announced the result of the proposal. He looked at Singapore's Chinese CEO with a victor's eyes condescendingly. Admittedly, the head of Avago, whom he did not take seriously, did bring some pressure. But there is a difference between strength and weakness.

"I don't think Jacob is suitable for such an era of radical changes. Everyone, times have changed. Qualcomm's future is very dangerous." Chen Fuyang's proposal failed. He was disappointed and angry but still preached to all the shareholders present. View.

Some shareholders mocked: "Are you the most suitable?"

"I think Mr. Fang is more suitable. Can you invite Mr. Fang here?" Chen Fuyang retorted, "At least I am more suitable than Jacob. At the very least, Qualcomm will not be surrounded by enemies."

Seeing that this person failed in the proposal but still spoke harshly, the shareholders at the scene spoke out one after another.

However, Chen Fuyang no longer refuted, just shook his head, stood up and led his team to leave Qualcomm's shareholder meeting early. There was no way, no way, it couldn't be done.

Hostile acquisitions are indeed not that simple. Qualcomm is too big, and a random acquisition like this can overwhelm Anwar, so we can only take risks.

Chen Fuyang left the scene disappointed on his face, but a little excited in his heart.

He knew what would happen next, but instead prayed that Qualcomm would get Broadcom done quickly.

However, there is no need for Chen Fuyang to pray. Qualcomm itself is afraid of long nights and nightmares. The clown Anhua Gao will have to retreat if he is tricked by some tricks. The twin giants like Intel and Yike are the competitors that the company really values.

One week after the shareholders' meeting, Qualcomm and Broadcom held close negotiations and quickly cut through the trouble to implement the final acquisition price of US$35 billion.

Qualcomm acquired Broadcom for US$15 billion in cash and US$20 billion in stock, making it the largest technology acquisition in history.

As soon as the news came out, the stock prices of both companies soared.

Some media lamented the speed of this merger and acquisition, Qualcomm's snatching of food from the tiger's mouth, and the changes in global industry development. They gave a very representative evaluation - Broadcom's acquisition symbolizes the end of the era of communications semiconductor companies. .

Some media tried to interview Intel and Yike, but received no response.

Qualcomm's market value has returned to US$80 billion. It seems that it has finally had the last laugh after a series of storms.

Jacob was relieved when he finalized the acquisition plan, and posted an extremely emotional post on Twitter.

——It’s getting better, everything is getting better.

As CEO, Qualcomm has encountered great challenges since the beginning of the year. One after another, Jacobs' nerves are very tense. Now he is leading the largest technology acquisition in history, which is expected to severely damage the competition between Intel and Yike. Conspiracy, this is the best start to the second half of the year!

When the merger is completed and Qualcomm completely digests Broadcom, the original constraints will no longer exist, and the company's reliance on a single business will become a thing of the past.

Jacob was thinking about the benefits of mergers and acquisitions, and he also felt that he had learned lessons and re-recognized the benefits brought by mergers and acquisitions, which was originally a relative misunderstanding.

July 12th, an ordinary Monday.

Jacobs was reading Broadcom's business analysis and considering the fine-tuning of some senior executives' acquisitions, when the desk phone rang in the office.

For some reason, his heart skipped a beat, and he reached out and pressed the phone.

"Sorry, Jacob, China has not approved our acquisition of Broadcom!" The voice coming from the landline was so excited that it broke at one point.

After hearing these words, Jacob felt dizzy.

He shook his head hard, trying to hear what was behind him.

"They are worried that this will significantly enhance our market dominance in the field of mobile communication chips. The previous antitrust investigation has not yet ended, but it has been initially confirmed that Qualcomm has monopolistic behavior..."

"Also, it is believed that it will have an adverse impact on the competitive landscape of the relevant market..."

"They also said that they considered whether the merger would affect the procurement costs of downstream companies and the rights and interests of consumers..."

"Finally, not approved..."

The world in front of Jacob's eyes became a little clearer, but after listening to these words, thinking about the previous preliminary investigation results, and thinking about the hanging knife, he felt that his mouth was dry, and he wanted to say but could not speak.

China rarely opposes such mergers and acquisitions. The last time it opposed was in 2008, when Coca-Cola acquired Huiyuan, which involved Chinese companies. Now, American companies acquire American companies...

As usual, there are almost no surprises!

A figure appeared in his mind, a figure that made him want to rush up and stab him twice.

Will there be anyone else?

Jacob didn't respond to the call and roughly pressed the phone.

He was stunned for a while, and when he used his hand to drag the mouse again, he felt his arms shaking unconsciously. The announcement of this kind of news from China would definitely... lead to a sharp drop in the stock price...

Jacob took two deep breaths. After all, he still didn't have the courage to open the company's stock price page, but he clicked on Twitter.

The reposted message popped up on the page.

Chen Fuyang reposted a tweet he made a few days ago.

——It’s getting better, everything is getting better.

Jacob's vision was hazy for a while. He wanted to shout but only gave a vague roar. He grabbed the mouse with his right hand and smashed it against the computer.

Plop!

There was a crisp sound, like the sound of a broken dream. (End of chapter)