(Bloomberg) -- Qualcomm Inc. shareholder T. Rowe Price Group Inc. voted in favor of Broadcom Ltd.'s board nominees, supporting an attempt to overturn Qualcomm's opposition to the $117-billion hostile takeover bid, according to a person familiar with the investor's action.
T. Rowe voted for all six of Broadcom's nominations, a move which, if followed by enough other shareholders, would give the bidder control of the 11-person Qualcomm board that has so-far shunned the approach. T. Rowe's vote and stance could change in the run up to a meeting, said the person who declined to be identified because the voting is not yet public.
The two chipmakers are embroiled in an increasingly bitter fight over the future of Qualcomm, whose board and management say the offer is a gambit to steal the company on the cheap. The merger would be the biggest technology deal ever. Shareholders were scheduled to vote on Broadcom's attempt to take control of the board at a meeting Tuesday. That was postponed by at least 30 days Monday by Qualcomm citing an order by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S.
T. Rowe was one of the top 10 holders of Qualcomm at the end of last year with a 2.3 percent stake, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
To contact the reporters on this story: Ian King in San Francisco at ianking@bloomberg.net, Ed Hammond in New York at ehammond12@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jillian Ward at jward56@bloomberg.net, Molly Schuetz
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