Qualcomm has dropped its objections to being acquired by Singapore’s Broadcom and is willing to agree a deal with its rival chipmaker if it raises its takeover offer to $160bn including debt, according to people involved in the negotiations. 

The shift in stance marks a significant change for Qualcomm executives, who had been objecting to the deal on antitrust grounds. People close to Qualcomm said Broadcom has recently made enough progress in addressing the competition issues to allow the talks to shift to reaching an agreed price. 

Qualcomm is insisting that Broadcom raises its offer by at least 15 per cent to above $90 per share, up from its current $79 per share bid, to reach what would be the biggest tech deal ever struck, people involved in the talks said. The total $160bn price tag would include Broadcom assuming $25bn in Qualcomm debt.