The European Commisison (EU), which leads the executive function of the EU, will issue an antitrust warning to Broadcam in its bid to acquire cloud-computing pioneer VMware, according to a Reuters report.

The EC opened an investigation in December, issuing a statement that said it “was particularly concerned that the transaction would allow Broadcom to restrict competition in the market for certain hardware components which interoperate with VMware's software.”

The Commission had done a preliminary investigation into the proposed $61 billion merger, finding that it “may allow Broadcom to restrict competition in the market for the supply of NICs, FC HBAs and storage adapters.”

The preliminary report cited the potential for “degrading interoperability” between VMware and potential competitors' hardware, and “foreclosing” competitors' hardware by locking them out or degrading access to it. In December, Broadcom issued a statement expressing confidence that the deal will move forward and close in 2023. The Commission has until May 11 to issue a decision.