Republic of Korea: Announced Fair Trade Commission conditional approval of Broadcom and VMware merger

On 23 October 2023, the Korean Fair Trade Commission (FTC) issued its ruling in the investigation into the proposed acquisition of VMware by Broadcom. The FTC issued conditional approval of the merger and imposed corrective measures on Broadcom to ensure compatibility with competitors and new entrants for the next ten years. Specifically, the FTC prohibits Broadcom from reducing the level of compatibility for competitors from the current level of both VMware and Broadcom. Furthermore, based on the corrective measures, Broadcom would be required to provide FC HBA drivers source code and licensing if requested by competitors. The FTC stated that the corrective measures aim to prevent VMware from using its market position to restrict competition in the FC HBA market.