Broadcom acquired CA Technologies for $18.9 billion in 2018.
CA Technologies, formerly known as Computer Associates, developed enterprise software for managing computer systems and networks. Broadcom’s purchase marked a major expansion beyond its traditional strength in semiconductors and communications hardware into infrastructure software.
Broadcom had already grown through acquisitions and corporate restructuring. Its roots trace to semiconductor businesses associated with Hewlett-Packard and later Agilent Technologies, while the modern Broadcom name emerged after Avago Technologies acquired Broadcom Corporation in 2016.
The transaction is sometimes confused with Broadcom’s later acquisition of VMware, which was completed in 2023 for approximately $69 billion. CA Technologies and VMware were separate acquisitions, and both helped make Broadcom a prominent infrastructure-software owner as well as a major chip supplier.