China: Issued SAMR conditional approval of Broadcom and VMware merger

On 21 November 2023, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) of China approved Broadcom Corporation's acquisition of VMware Corporation with additional restrictive conditions. In particular, to mitigate the potential reduced competition post-acquisition, including market dominance in non-public cloud virtualisation software and fibre channel adapters, possible misuse of sensitive information and reduced interoperability of VMware's software with competitors' hardware, the SAMR imposed several conditions to the acquisition. The measures include prohibiting unjustifiable tying of sales, ensuring continued interoperability of VMware's software with third-party hardware, maintaining certification practices for Broadcom's fibre channel adapters, and protecting the confidentiality of third-party hardware manufacturers' information. The conditions are valid for 10 years.