Business | Broader still

Will a chipmaking giant’s $60bn bet on software pay off?

Cultural clashes and trustbusters could get in the way

A Broadcom Corp. touch screen digitizer integrated circuit (IC) chip, center, of an Apple Inc. iPhone 6 smartphone in seen in an arranged photograph in Bangkok, Thailand, on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2018. Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook told shareholders on Feb. 13 at the company's annual meeting to expect higher dividends and stressed that succession planning is a priority. Photographer: Brent Lewin/Bloomberg

May 26th 2022|San Francisco

A market downturn is a good time for buyers. Look at the tech industry. The Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, has fallen by 30% from its peak in November and a flurry of deals are under way. Microsoft is working on the $69bn purchase of Activision Blizzard, a videogame maker. Since March, Thoma Bravo, a private-equity firm, has spent $18bn on two enterprise-software firms. Elon Musk is—perhaps—about to purchase Twitter, a social network.

This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline “Broader still”