- The European Commission’s approval of Broadcom’s VMware acquisition has been criticized
- CISPE is worried about price rises, software bundling. and lock-ins for customers
- The Commission could have to reassess the deal if it’s annulled
CISPE has argued that the European Commission failed to assess clear, publicly known risks when it approved Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware in July 2023.
For example, the company’s CEO had previously committed to increasing VMware’s standalone EBITDA by as much as around 80% in a market growing only up to around 8% annually, which CISPE says could only have come from steep price increases, forced bundling and customer exploitation – not organically.
CISPE also criticized Broadcom for financing the deal through around $28.4 billion in new debt and $8 billion of VMware’s debt, creating “a powerful financial incentive to extract cash rapidly from VMware’s installed base.”
The European group of cloud providers also warned that some predicted risks have since materialized, with soaring prices, forced multi-year subscriptions, and bundled VMware products raising costs for European cloud providers.
When the Commission approved the deal, Competition Policy EVP Margrethe Vestager noted that Broadcom’s only rival in this space, Marvell, would not be affected by anticompetitive behavior. However the Commission did not comment on customer costs.
“The Commission looked at this merger through half-closed eyes and declared it safe. By rubber,” CISPE Secretary General Francisco Mingorence said in the group’s most recent statement. “Brussels handed Broadcom a blank cheque to raise prices, lock-in and squeeze customers.”
Earlier in December 2025, CISPE lodged a filing against the European Commission’s approval of Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware. CISPE’s three main criticisms are that Broadcom’s dominance and its harm on competition have not been properly assessed, that the bundling risks were mishandled, and that impacts on innovation were not properly investigated.
“Not just cloud service providers, but hospitals, universities, and municipal authorities are all now facing unaffordable bills and rigid long-term commitments that jeopardise the flexibility and affordability of their cloud infrastructure,” Mingorance wrote in July 2025 when CISPE announced it would be taking the Commission to court to annul its approval.
If annulled, the European Commission would have to re-examine the deal under current market conditions.
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