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The European Commission opened an investigation in December,
saying the deal, announced last year, would allow Broadcom to
restrict competition in the market for certain hardware
components which interoperate with VMware's software.
The EU competition enforcer, which will decide on the deal by
June 7, declined to comment.
Tech M&A deals have attracted more intense scrutiny on both
sides of the Atlantic recently as regulators worry about giant
companies acquiring smaller, more innovative rivals.
The Commission will set out its concerns in a statement of
objections, the people said. Companies can subsequently ask for
a closed hearing to defend their deals in front of senior
Commission and national competition officials as well as rivals
and the Commission's lawyers.
Broadcom said it would continue its "constructive work" with the
Commission. The deal has received the green light in Brazil,
South Africa and Canada, while the UK competition watchdog is
investigating the acquisition.
"We continue to expect the transaction will close in Broadcom's
fiscal year 2023," the company said.
Broadcom has told the EU enforcer that the presence of Amazon,
Microsoft and Google shows that there is strong competition in
the cloud computing market, other people familiar with the
matter told Reuters in October.
Beltug, a Belgian association of CIOs & Digital Technology
leaders, and its counterparts France's Cigref, CIO platform
Nederland and VOICE Germany have said that the deal could lead
to big prices increases and tougher commercial practices against
customers.
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, Editing by Louise Heavens and Jane
Merriman)
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