European Union: Approved Acquisition of VMware by Broadcom by the EU Commission

On 12 July 2023, the European Commission approved the acquisition of VMware by Broadcom, subject to certain conditions. The Commission conducted an in-depth investigation on the acquisition of VMware, a software supplier primarily offering virtualization software, by Broadcom, a hardware company. The investigation ruled out concerns regarding Network Interface Cards (NICs) and storage adapters, the development of SmartNICs, and the bundling of Broadcom's virtualization software with VMware's. However, the investigation found that the acquisition could harm competition in the market for Fibre Channel Host-Bus Adapters (FC HBAs). To address the competition concerns, Broadcom offered commitments related to access, interoperability, and source code sharing for third-party FC HBAs. These commitments aim to ensure that Marvell, the only rival in the FC HBAs market, can compete effectively and prevent Broadcom from restricting competition. The Commission determined that, with the proposed commitments, the acquisition would no longer raise competition concerns in the FC HBAs market. The decision is conditional upon Broadcom's full compliance with the commitments, which will be in place for ten years.