Qualcomm warns of potential antitrust issues and lost customers if Broadcom's revised deal proceeds

Qualcomm Inc warned on Friday it could lose two large clients if it accepted chipmaker Broadcom Ltd’s revised **$121 billion buyout offer** and said it saw “no next step” for regulatory approval of any deal. [caption id=“attachment_4185271” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Qualcomm chipset.[/caption] In a statement responding to Broadcom’s new offer, the smartphone chipmaker raised concerns about an unspecified break-up fee and potential antitrust issues if the deal proceeds. Broadcom was prepared to pay a break fee of up to $10 billion, CNBC had reported earlier this week, citing sources.  “Broadcom completely ignores the reality that in the last five years several large, complex international mergers involving multiple regulators have taken over 18 months. And at the moment, there is no ”next“ step,” Qualcomm said. The statement said two customers worth more than $1 billion annually in chip sales had told Qualcomm they were likely to move designs away from the company if the Broadcom deal went ahead. “This is due to their lack of confidence in Broadcom’s ability to continue to lead in technology.” Separately, Broadcom Chief Executive Hock Tan, said that while Qualcomm had proposed a meeting between the two sides, it was refusing to meet before next Tuesday. Qualcomm proposed the meeting on Thursday to see whether the two firms can address what it called the bid’s “serious deficiencies in value and certainty”. That was part of attempts to strike a balance between continued resistance to Broadcom’s takeover attempt and heeding the calls of Qualcomm shareholders who have urged the company to engage with its rival in case it can clinch an attractive deal.