Broadcom Struggles to Close $61B VMware Merger Ahead of November Deadline, Awaiting Approval from Chinese Regulators

As the November 26 expiration date for the deal nears, increasing pressure lies on Chinese authorities amidst retaliatory political tensions with the U.S.. Broadcom

Broadcom announced its intention to acquire VMware for $61 billion in May 2022 and has since cleared regulatory approvals from the U.S., UK, and European Union. The company is confident that its pending merger deal will close before the expiry date of November 26th.
The deal's final approval is held up by China's State Administration of Market Regulation (SAMR), reportedly due to political tensions between the U.S. and China. Ray Wang of Constellation Research suggests that China's delay might be in response to the U.S.'s recent controls on Nvidia AI chip exports to China.
Should the deal not close before the expiry date, Broadcom would have to pay a $1.5 billion termination fee according to the terms of the agreement.
The proposed merger would result in VMware, a leader in virtualization, becoming part of Broadcom, mainly a chip manufacturer. This comes across as an unusual pairing, albeit Broadcom has made significant purchases of legacy software companies, such as CA Technologies and Symantec's security business, in recent years.
Broadcom and VMware issued a joint statement maintaining their confidence that the merger will 'close soon', having already received legal merger clearance from Australia, Brazil, Canada, the EU, Israel, Japan, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, and the UK. They also claim to have foreign investment control clearance 'in all necessary jurisdictions'.