Qualcomm's been in the news quite a lot this year, for a lot of different reasons. Now, according to Bloomberg, it might be making headlines again soon. Broadcom Ltd. may be submitting an offer to Qualcomm to purchase the company in what would be the single largest takeover of a chipmaker ever. It's early, though, and no offer has yet been submitted to Qualcomm. 

According to Bloomberg, citing "people familiar with the matter," the deal would propose ~$70 a share in cash and stock for the acquisition. In comparison, Qualcomm's stock at the time of writing is trading at $61.81 per share, up 12.7% since the news broke.

Broadcom's been in an acquiring mood recently. It's a bit complex, but Broadcom itself was purchased back in 2015 by Avago (another chipmaker), and the resulting conglomeration is also called Broadcom. That makes it one of the more prominent chip manufacturers out there and a competitor to Qualcomm.

Bloomberg speculates—and I agree—that US regulators might oppose such an acquisition. Outside the US, with Qualcomm already under investigation for its purchase of NXP, EU regulators may also have some opposition. Broadcom's merger with Brocade has also been postponed pending further study, so Broadcom could face a tough fight if the company is looking for additional acquisitions.

With its ongoing legal dispute with Apple and antitrust investigations in multiple countries, it will be interesting to see how this news and a potential buy-out might affect Qualcomm's fortunes. Personally, I think that such an acquisition probably isn't in the best interests of consumers, but we'll just have to wait and see. An offer may never materialize, and this could be the last we hear of it. There's no schedule set for when Broadcom's bid for Qualcomm might be submitted, and Bloomberg states that a final decision has yet to be reached.

UPDATE: 2017/11/06 9:24am PST BY

According to a PR released earlier today, Qualcomm has received Broadcom's unsolicited offer to acquire all outstanding shares of Qualcomm for $60 per share, plus $10 per share in Broadcom stock. Qualcomm is consulting its financial and legal advisers before making any decisions and will issue no further comment until the company's board of directors has completed a review.

Source: Bloomberg