Overview

• CISPE filed a formal appeal with the European General Court to overturn the European Commission’s approval of Broadcom’s $69 billion acquisition of VMware
• The complaint alleges legal errors and manifest failures in the Commission’s competitive assessment that left the deal without safeguards against market dominance
• Since closing in November 2023, Broadcom has terminated existing VMware contracts with minimal notice and imposed licensing hikes of up to tenfold alongside mandatory multi-year commitments
• CISPE says two years of lobbying and direct negotiations failed to secure fairer access terms for its members before resorting to legal action
• Broadcom disputes the challenge, emphasizing its adherence to merger commitments and asserting that the acquisition underwent thorough scrutiny