Broadcom Fails to Block EU Probe Documents! VMware Antitrust Case Continues to Heat Up

Foreign media reported on Monday (3rd) that U.S. semiconductor giant Broadcom (AVGO-US) tried to suspend the European Union's antitrust regulators from accessing U.S. legal documents, but the request was rejected by the EU court. This case is linked to Broadcom's 2023 acquisition of VMware, and the EU General Court ruled in favor of the European Commission's investigative authority.

In May this year, Broadcom filed an application for interim measures with the EU General Court in Luxembourg, seeking to temporarily halt the European Commission’s access to legal documents created outside the EU. The European Commission, which also enforces EU competition law, is currently conducting an antitrust investigation into Broadcom.

Broadcom argued that the materials requested by the EU are protected under the U.S. attorney-client privilege, a legal principle designed to safeguard confidential communications between lawyers and clients, allowing parties to seek legal advice without fear of disclosure.

However, there is a divergence between U.S. and EU approaches to legal professional privilege. In the U.S., protection typically extends to confidential communications between companies and their in-house legal teams. In contrast, the EU only recognizes certain communications between companies and external independent lawyers, excluding internal legal discussions from the same level of protection.

The EU General Court, the bloc’s second-highest judicial body, rejected Broadcom’s arguments, stating that it is for the European Commission to determine which information is necessary to investigate potential breaches of EU competition law.

Judges noted that allowing investigated companies to self-determine which documents are relevant would severely undermine the Commission’s investigative power. This ruling means Broadcom cannot currently prevent regulators from obtaining the requested documents, and antitrust risks stemming from the VMware transaction will remain under market scrutiny.