Broadcom shareholders approve plan to move back to US

Broadcom said Friday that its shareholders overwhelmingly approved a plan to move the computer chipmaking giant back to the United States from Singapore.

The company, which saw its huge buyout offer for rival Qualcomm blocked this month by President Donald Trump on national security grounds, said that the move will be completed on April 4, subject to approval by the High Court of the Republic of Singapore.

Broadcom said more than 99 percent of its shareholders voted in favor of the plan.

Earlier this month Trump issued an order barring the proposed $117 billion hostile takeover of Qualcomm, citing credible evidence such a deal "threatens to impair the national security of the United States."

It would have been the biggest-ever deal in the tech sector.

Trump's order made no mention of China, but an earlier letter from the US Treasury Department warned that a takeover might hurt US leadership in 5G, super-fast fifth-generation wireless networks now being deployed, and consequently pose a threat to US security.

The presidential action was allowed because Broadcom is a foreign entity, but would not have been possible had it completed its redomiciliation.

Broadcom was founded in California but moved its headquarters after a 2015 deal that merged it with Avago Technologies.

On March 14, Broadcom said it was withdrawing its offer for Qualcomm.