According to Bloomberg, Broadcom is in talks to buy cloud-software firm VMware, in a deal that may be one of the largest tech mergers ever.
According to Bloomberg, which cited people familiar with the talks, the talks are still ongoing and there is no guarantee that they would result in an acquisition.
As of early Monday morning, neither VMware nor Broadcom had responded to CRN’s requests for confirmation.
If a transaction is reached, it will be a significant step toward Broadcom’s ambition of moving beyond its hardware stack roots and becoming a key player in IT infrastructure software, as it has done with Brocade Communications in 2017, CA Technologies in 2018, and Symantec Enterprise in 2019.
Broadcom’s position in the cloud ecosystem, where VMware is extensively involved, would be strengthened by the acquisition of VMware. Broadcom’s stock price fell over 5% in pre-market trade on Monday morning. VMware’s market capitalization is $40.3 billion, a fraction of Broadcom’s $221.7 billion valuation. In pre-market trade on Monday, its stock jumped more than 20%.
