Broadcom wanted to give the green light to take over VMware today, but China refuses to cooperate. With less than a month to go before the final deadline, Broadcom remains positive.

Broadcom is reassuring investors that its planned acquisition of VMware will happen soon. Actually everything had to be finished today, but that didn’t work. After lengthy procedures, almost all competition authorities worldwide have approved the takeover, with the exception of the authorities in China: they remain silent. Without Chinese approval, the takeover will be canceled on November 26 and Broadcom will have to pay $1.5 billion in compensation to VMware.

Reassurance without arguments

According to Broadcom itself, the acquisition will take place “soon” and certainly before the final deadline. The company points to global approvals but does not mention the situation in China. The assurance in question therefore offers investors no arguments other than an invitation to share the optimism to explain why they should be reassured. Maybe Broadcom knows something the public doesn’t, or maybe the glass at headquarters is only half full. We don’t have to wait more than a month to find out.

Broadcom itself makes a lot of sales in China and cannot do without approval. The Chinese, for their part, are in no hurry: doing nothing is an excellent means of pressure for them, which shows that the American embargo on the export of advanced technology is not without consequences. Should the Chinese authorities, consciously or unintentionally, fail to give a sign of life and approve the takeover by November 26th, the takeover will generally be canceled. It had previously emerged that China knows very well what it is doing and is actively considering whether it wants to torpedo the takeover or not.