Broadcom is in talks to buy software maker VMWare, according to sources familiar with the matter, a deal that would transform the chipmaker into a diversified tech firm.
Buying VMware, which has a market capitalisation of US$40 billion, would be Broadcom's most ambitious attempt at a deal since its effort to buy Qualcomm for US$103 billion failed in 2018.
Below is a timeline of Broadcom's major deals under its chief executive Hock Tan:
August 2019: Broadcom agrees to Symantec enterprise security business for US$10.7 billion in cash.
11 July 2018: Broadcom says it will acquire US business software company CA Inc for US$18.9 billion, venturing far beyond its realm of semiconductors.
6 November 2017: Broadcom makes an unsolicited US$103 billion bid for Qualcomm Inc, setting the stage for a takeover battle that could reshape the industry at the heart of mobile phone hardware.
February 2018: Broadcom withdraws its bid to acquire Qualcomm, two days after US President Donald Trump the attempt.
2 November 2016: Broadcom says it will network gear maker Brocade Communications Systems Inc for US$5.5 billion in cash, to expand its fibre channel and storage businesses.
28 May 2015: Avago Technologies agrees to Broadcom Corp for US$37 billion in the largest merger of chipmakers ever. After the takeover, Avago changes its name to Broadcom.
February 2015: Avago says it will Emulex Corp for US$764 million, in a bid to extend Broadcom's presence in storage networks into fiber channel technology.
December 2013: Avago says it will LSI Corp for US$6.6 billion, as it turns to the fast-growing storage chip market to counter volatility in its main wireless business.
April 2013: Avago says it will optical chip and component maker CyOptics Inc for about US$400 million in cash.
(Compiled by Supantha Mukherjee; Editing by Matt Scuffham and Jan Harvey)
