In recent weeks, Broadcom made increasingly aggressive overtures for Qualcomm. | Getty White House says it's blocking Broadcom bid for rival Qualcomm

President Donald Trump blocked Asian chip manufacturer Broadcom's hostile takeover bid for U.S. rival Qualcomm today, scuttling the deal over national security concerns about China.

The decision comes after a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States determined the purchase by Singapore-based Broadcom could benefit Chinese competitors in the race to produce next-generation mobile technology and eliminate an important supplier of telecommunications technology to federal defense agencies.


The $117 billion transaction was poised to be the largest tech takeover in U.S. history, and in recent weeks, Broadcom made increasingly aggressive overtures for Qualcomm. Broadcom tried to install a new board of directors at Qualcomm, for example, an effort that Trump has also prohibited.

Broadcom executives have argued their company is American in most ways, noting the majority of its employees and investors are based in the U.S. and most of its executives hold U.S. citizenship. The company is in the process of shifting its headquarters to San Jose, Calif., and said it expects the relocation to be completed by April 3.

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CFIUS under Trump approved Broadcom's previous acquisition of Brocade Communications in November after a year-long national security review. Approval of that deal came shortly after Broadcom CEO Hock Tan announced his company's U.S. relocation during a White House press conference, in which he largely credited the Trump administration's tax reform efforts for the decision to shift its headquarters.