EU court lets CISPE withhold VMware challenge supporters’ identities from Broadcom

Broadcom ended standalone licensing for VMware Telco Cloud Platform, integrating it into VMware Cloud Foundation. Existing customers will transition to the new offering. Broadcom claims this simplifies telco cloud management. The change follows Broadcom's acquisition and licensing disputes with telecom operators.

Marvell (MRVL) announced an all-stock acquisition of Lumentum (LITE), approved by both boards. TrendForce says the combined entity could challenge Broadcom's (AVGO) lead in AI optical communications, with a potential 7% revenue share in the semiconductor wired communications market. The deal may reduce cloud providers' reliance on Broadcom and position Marvell for next-gen optical interconnects. China's review may focus on potential market restrictions.

Broadcom (AVGO) stock rose 3.3% to $332.81 after a $63B chip financing deal with banks, supporting AI infrastructure. The company backstops $43.5B of senior debt. Analysts maintain a 'Strong Buy' rating, citing demand strength. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 also gained, overshadowing Fed rate hike concerns.

Marvell Technology agreed to buy Lumentum Holdings in an all-stock deal valued at $115B, including debt. Marvell shares fell 12.7% and Lumentum dropped 18.6% on the news. The deal, expected to close by 2028, aims to create an AI connectivity leader, with Marvell shareholders owning about two-thirds of the combined company. Both companies' stocks underperformed the implied deal price, reflecting market doubts about the terms and timing.

The EU General Court ruled that CISPE, a cloud trade association, can keep confidential the identities of members backing its challenge to Broadcom's acquisition of VMware. CISPE argues the European Commission erred in approving the deal without conditions to protect cloud providers. Broadcom sought to access this information to challenge the action. CISPE claims Broadcom has since increased prices and reduced the number of authorized VMware providers in Europe.

Anthropic, set to go public, secured $895.4B in AI computing contracts by Sept. 30, with $447.5B due by 2030. Key deals include $161.2B with Broadcom, $121.3B with Google Cloud, and $110B with AWS. Q3 revenue rose 46.7% to $16.962B, but operating loss was $567M. Suppliers like Broadcom, Google, and Amazon are also investors.