The UK is considering an in-depth investigation into Broadcom's $61 billion acquisition of VMware

CTOnews.com March 22, Reuters reported that the British competition regulator said today that it is considering whether to submit the US chipmaker Broadcom's $61 billion acquisition of VMware to investigation because the transaction may harm competition.

The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the deal could make computer servers more expensive for UK businesses.

CMA Executive Director David Stewart said: "Servers are an important component, and their operation is largely due to the hardware products made by companies such as Broadcom and the virtualization software of companies such as VMware working together. "

"We are concerned that this deal could allow Broadcom to eliminate competitors in hardware component supply in the server market and lead to less innovation, whereas most companies want fast, responsive and affordable IT systems. "

Broadcom now has five days to come up with a legally binding proposal to address its concerns before deciding within five days whether to conduct an in-depth investigation into the deal, the regulator said.