VMware’s stock surges after the U.K.’s CMA provisionally clears buyout by Broadcom

Shares of VMware Inc.
VMW,
-0.46%
shot up 4.2% toward a near two-year high in premarket trading Wednesday, after the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority provisionally cleared the acquisition of the cloud infrastructure company by Broadcom Inc.
AVGO,
-0.76%,
with a final decision on expected no later than Aug. 9. Broadcom’s stock tacked on 0.5% ahead of the open. The CMA said it has provisionally found that the deal “may not be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition” in the U.K. Clearance in the U.K. comes after the European Union approved the $61 billion merger last week. Broadcom has said it expects to close the deal in its current fiscal year. VMware shares, which is on track to open at the highest price seen since October 2021, have rallied 23.9% over the past three months through Tuesday, while Broadcom’s stock has run up 42.4% and the S&P 500
SPX,
+0.71%
has gained 9.6%.