Broadcom officially terminated its attempt to acquire Qualcomm, a move which was largely inevitable following US political opposition to the deal.

The company also withdrew the independent director nominees it put forward for election to Qualcomm’s board: in a statement it thanked the candidates “for their unwavering commitment to act in the best interest of Qualcomm stockholders”.

Earlier this week, an unprecedented US presidential order was issued blocking the deal due to concerns Broadcom “might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States”. It followed an interim order from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US made earlier this month.

Following President Trump’s intervention, CFIUS chairman Steven Mnuchin noted the decision was “based on the facts and national security sensitivities related to this particular transaction only and is not intended to make any other statement about Broadcom or its employees, including its thousands of hard working and highly-skilled US employees”.

Broadcom stated its board and management team “sincerely appreciate the significant support we received from the Qualcomm and Broadcom stockholders throughout this process”.