The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is set to make a second request for information on chipmaker Broadcom Ltd’s (AVGO.O) $103 billion hostile bid for Qualcomm Inc (QCOM.O), people familiar with the matter said on Friday, indicating heightened antitrust scrutiny.
The FTC review is part of a process under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act to scrutinize potentially anti-competitive mergers and acquisitions. The vast majority of deals reviewed by the FTC and the Department of Justice are allowed to proceed after the first preliminary review, according to the FTC’s website.
However, if a second request is issued, companies must provide more information to the FTC. As part of its defense against Broadcom, Qualcomm has argued that any deal faces a long and protracted antitrust review.
Deals that get a second FTC request for information often do so because of their complexity and size, and the deal could still be subsequently approved, some of the sources said.
Broadcom and Qualcomm declined to comment, while the FTC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
REUTERS
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