After months of silence, the Chinese market regulator is making its voice heard. The Chinese are attaching a number of conditions to Broadcom’s takeover of VMware, which primarily affect their own market, and will agree to the deal as soon as these are met.

There must have been a huge sigh of relief at Broadcom headquarters. The Chinese market regulator comes to the rescue and indicates that it wants to approve the acquisition of VMware. Before this happens, Broadcom and VMware must meet certain conditions. These are primarily related to the way Broadcom’s products are marketed in China. As soon as this is the case, the Chinese are ready to give the green light.

The takeover was a bumpy road. Customers and employees are not enthusiastic about it, and Western regulatory authorities have not given their approval lightly either. In the end, Broadcom got a thumbs up from everyone except the Chinese. They remained silent and seemed ready to ruin the whole thing. After all, Broadcom is very active in the Chinese market and cannot do without this authorization.

Approval weapon

China, in turn, is using the approval mechanism in response to US trade restrictions. By simply doing nothing, China has already stopped a major takeover of Intel. For a moment, it seemed as if China wanted to repeat this trick with Broadcom. Earlier this month it was revealed that the country is seriously considering this option. The conversation between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his American counterpart Joe Biden last week must have provided some clarity, because suddenly the market regulator is ready to let the deal go through.

Broadcom says it has now received all approvals. Tomorrow (November 22nd) Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware will become a reality. The acquisition itself is valued at $61 billion.