Broadcom could announce VMware acquisition for $60bn this week - reports

It has been reported that a bid could be made of around $140 a share

Broadcom may be gearing up to soon confirm a deal to acquire VMware for $60bn, according to reports.

The two companies are said to be in talks, with an agreement set to be announced "as soon as this week", according to Bloomberg.

The publication, who first reported the potential acquisition on Sunday, says an offer is likely to be in the form of stock but would include a large cash element.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the bid could be around $140 a share, or $60bn.

If such a deal is reached, it could be one of the biggest acquisitions to affect the channel since Dell acquired EMC in 2016 for $67bn.

VMWare was spun-off from Dell in November 2021, although Michael Dell continued as chairman of the VMware board and is also a significant shareholder within the company.

Speaking about the potential deal, former VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger told Yahoo Finance: "I have a lot of soul in that company.

"This is a large software asset innovating out of an important set of hybrid cloud and fundamental platform technologies.

"If it doesn't help out (the deal) that innovation cycle, it's probably not good. If it does, it's probably good."

If Broadcom were to acquire VMware, it would see the company broaden its enterprise software business following its acquisitions of CA Technologies and Symantec in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

Broadcom's $10.7bn (£8.3bn) acquisition of Symantec sparked some concern from the channel.

At the time, partners expressed fears over rumours that Broadcom planned to take Symantec's top 1,500 customers direct, while disties told sister publication Channel Partner Insight that they were concerned over Broadcom's silence over its channel strategy after buying Symantec.