Chipmaker Qualcomm on Monday urged Broadcom to enter into direct negotiations on its $117 billion offer for the company, and said the two sides had made progress on regulatory and other issues at a meeting last week.
Qualcomm maintained that all of Broadcom’s previous offers materially undervalued the company and proposed they conduct mutual due diligence to better inform talks on a price.
In a letter to Broadcom Chief Executive Hock Tan, Qualcomm proposed arranging a meeting focused on price as soon as mutually convenient for both parties.
The letter comes ahead of a showdown on March 6, when Qualcomm shareholders are scheduled to elect an 11-member board and decide whether to hand control to a slate of six nominees put forward by Broadcom.
Broadcom cut its bid last week by 4 percent to $117 billion as it objected to Qualcomm’s decision to raise its own bid for NXP Semiconductors to $44 billion.
In a meeting with Broadcom on Friday, Qualcomm proposed a reverse termination fee of 9 percent of enterprise value, if Broadcom fails to win regulatory approvals.
Broadcom had previously proposed an $8 billion breakup fee.
The company was not immediately available for comment.
