Reinventing the Millennium

Qualcomm acquired Avago. This large-scale acquisition transaction requires submission to multiple departments for review and timely disclosure of information. The FTC, which has a negative attitude this time, is one of the review departments.

only……

Qualcomm hasn’t taken off her pants yet…

Qualcomm just contacted Avago and had a tentative chat without doing anything else. The FTC jumped out in an informal manner, which is really unacceptable.

Why?

Fang Zhuo estimates that the main reason is antitrust, which has always been a factor that the FTC attaches great importance to. As for why it appeared when Qualcomm + Avago, instead of Qualcomm + Broadcom... maybe it is the recent fluctuations in Qualcomm's stock price that have had a bad impact. Perhaps they are just realizing the competitive impact that this new combination can have...

It’s not like you have to wait for someone to pay.

But no matter what, Qualcomm’s stock price, which was just about to recover, was hard controlled by the FTC.

Fang Zhuo found it quite incredible, and after waiting for the news for a few days, he actually heard a factor related to his company. Yike's appeal against Qualcomm's monopoly was partially supported by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which made the FTC attach great importance to it. .

The monopoly litigation regarding Qualcomm is destined to be long. The outcome of this round of appeals does make Fang Zhuo happy, but it will only be a part of each other's offense and defense, far from the final result.

However, unexpectedly, the FTC cited the ruling of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and launched an internal investigation into the impact of the Qualcomm acquisition on the market.

This kind of feedback made Fang Zhuo frown.

When things got to this point, he wasn't sure if there was some subjective initiative involved, but the matter always needed to be resolved.

If the matter is not resolved, let alone Qualcomm, Chen Fuyang of Avago is already like an ant on the hot pot. Things are obviously going according to plan, who would have thought that the FTC would intervene!

Fang Zhuo found some friends to communicate tactfully, but it was not easy to explain the situation clearly directly. He thought about it and felt that there could be another solution.

There are concerns within the FTC about the "new Qualcomm" of Qualcomm + Avago. So, instead of giving the former a red light, it would be better to give a green light to the acquisition of Intel + Broadcom.

"New Qualcomm" is certainly powerful, and "New Broadcom" is not bad either. With the existence of the latter, the former must be checked and balanced, and what can be called a monopoly if it can be checked and balanced?

In this case, Qualcomm is happy, Avago is happy, Intel is satisfied, Broadcom is happy, Yike is happy, and investors are also excited. Such six wins is like a new world!

Although Fang Zhuo has done a lot in the past few years, it is difficult to see such a six-win situation.

Adhering to the mood of solving it as soon as possible, he first called Intel, and then called the lobbying leader to discuss the embarrassing situation at this stage and the key points of the solution.

Intel was very cautious after Yike withdrew from the acquisition of Broadcom, and was also waiting to see the market and official reactions. In sharp contrast, it was Qualcomm who was eager.

CEO Brian was surprised by Mr. Fang's ideas and urging at this time. He was very hesitant about whether accelerating the acquisition was a good decision.

"Mr. Fang, it's not that I am unwilling to promote the acquisition of Broadcom, but Broadcom has many businesses and there are differences of opinion within the company."

Fang Zhuo patiently talked about his views on the current situation: "Brian, I think the current competition and market have reached a point of change. If Intel is willing to enter the market decisively at this time, the situation in the future may be completely different. On the contrary, If you miss it, you will miss it, not only the acquisition of Broadcom, but also the efforts to litigate Qualcomm’s patents.”

He not only talked about his views, but also gave practical promises: "Although Yike is limited by the review situation and cannot participate in the acquisition of Broadcom, the cooperation between us is still effective. The cooperation framework between Intel and Yike in the field of communications can Established, as for Broadcom’s business…”

Fang Zhuo thought about it briefly and felt that this matter could be easily solved.

Broadcom's own business is good, and Yike is indeed unable to participate in the acquisition due to review. However, if Broadcom is acquired by Intel and then spins off the business, this can largely avoid review.

Intel has no worries, and Yike WLS also gets more resources.

Brian was very satisfied with Mr. Fang's sincerity. If there were more smart and good people like Mr. Fang, the world would definitely become a better place.

His final response was to appropriately promote acquisition negotiations with Broadcom, but he could release the news first.

In addition, Intel also actively sent people to lobby. Regardless of whether it will be acquired or not, we will go up the mountain first.

Intel: Capitol Hill, here I come!

As a result, heroes from all over the world went straight to Washington, trying to dispel the FTC's opposition from different angles.

Intel, Qualcomm, ECO, and Avago. Even Avago, which is inferior in size and reputation, has its main business and commercial operations in the United States.

This wave of lobbying came in front of us, and the FTC was the first to be numb.

America has a legal lobbying system, and it also uses the Lobbying Disclosure Act to restrict lobbying behavior, but this time it is overt and covert... The FTC's BE and BC departments can't even tell where these requests come from. who……

If they all come from Qualcomm, then there’s no way the schedule can cause a crash, right?

But the strange thing is that the goals of lobbying and lobbying are the same, and they are all trying to justify Qualcomm's acquisition of Avago.

This is really confusing.

As for whether it is reasonable or not...

With the release of the news about the acquisition negotiations between Intel and Broadcom, it seems to be somewhat reasonable. If Qualcomm says no, will Intel say no next?

Moreover, after Yike's appeal was partially supported, Apple and Qualcomm's first judgment in the local court also came out, ruling that Qualcomm did not engage in monopolistic behavior.

From this point of view, aside from Qualcomm’s behavior in the market, monopoly within the legal scope is still controversial, and the FTC does not seem to be in a hurry to jump out at this time.

The FTC's internal opinions have been shaken and divided, and Qualcomm has just suffered setbacks overseas. It is worth turning a blind eye to its own competition with Yike.

External public opinion has not received any effective information related to the FTC review, but Qualcomm’s Jacobs is very happy.

As expected, it is an informal attitude. As expected, Qualcomm still has some weight in the United States!

This lobbying went surprisingly smoothly!

Although I haven’t received a particularly positive statement yet, the FTC’s softening is very obvious!

This was the first time that Jacob had a phone call with Chen Fuyang of Avago.

"Mr. Chen, Qualcomm and Avago have common prospects. Let's meet and talk." Jacob's original attitude became much more sincere because of the FTC, and he didn't want to get into trouble.

"Okay, I'll go to San Diego and we'll talk in person." Because of what happened to the FTC, Chen Fuyang didn't dare to show off at all, for fear of another accident.

The two leaders who used to ridicule each other have become extremely polite. They use their strength in one place and use their strength in one place. It can be called a rare two-way rush. (End of chapter)