For the last several weeks now, Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) has been working to buy VMware (NYSE:VMW), in a deal valued at $61 billion. The move has not been met kindly by government regulators, and was under close scrutiny. However, Broadcom is up slightly in Wednesday afternoon’s trading after China’s antitrust operations halted their review pending some new “remedy talks.”
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The State Administration for Market Regulation in China objected to the Broadcom/VMware deal on several fronts, which meant that some kind of remediation would be needed in order to get the deal actually made.
Yet, even with this halt and these talks, there are signs that the deal will likely go through anyway. Reports suggest that VMware already told its employees that job cuts were likely, possibly even before the deal with Broadcom went through. A meeting with staff already took place, and resumes are already starting to hit social media as VMware employees apparently prepare to become former VMware employees. No one actually knows who will be cut, kept, or kept until cut—those are the three options, according to reports: severance, a job offer from Broadcom, or a short-term contract—but VMware employees are getting proactive all the same.
Is Broadcom a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Broadcom, meanwhile, enjoys broad support from analysts. With 16 Buy ratings and two Holds, that works out to a Strong Buy consensus for Broadcom stock. Further, with an average price target of $975.56, Broadcom stock offers investors 15.04% upside potential.
