Broadcom and Qualcomm

In 2018, Broadcom launched a roughly $117 billion hostile bid for Qualcomm, set to be the largest technology acquisition in history. The US government killed it in about two months. Hock Tan was known for buying chipmakers, cutting costs, and extracting cash flow, but Qualcomm held some of the most valuable wireless patents in the world and sat at the center of 5G. CFIUS forced a delay, then a presidential order blocked the deal outright on national security grounds. Broadcom offered to redomicile in the US. It did not matter.

For founders and operators thinking about M&A, partnerships, or any large transaction, this case sharpens a risk that lives entirely outside the negotiation. It asks whether a non-business stakeholder, a government, regulator, union, or community, holds effective veto power in your industry, and whether you have mapped it. The specific limit that no price, promise, or restructuring can overcome, and how you'd spot it early, is the diligence lesson the case keeps for the end.