Broadcom shares spiked more than 21% on Wednesday afternoon after the Wall Street Journal reported that it is in talks to be bought by Avago.
Broadcom, one of the world's largest semiconductor companies, has a market cap of $31.08 billion. Its clients include Amazon, Apple, Google, and Samsung.
According to CNBC, Avago's board will meet tonight to vote on the deal.
Bloomberg reported that according to people familiar with the matter, an announcement could be made as soon as Thursday.
Avago shares spiked more than 7%. Based in Singapore and also in the semiconductors industry, it has a market cap of $35 billion.
The spike in Avago's stock lifted the share price to an all-time high of around $140. It's now up 97% over the past 12 months.
There's been much M&A activity in the semiconductor industry this year, as the Journal notes. Intel, the world's largest chipmaker, is still in talks to buy Altera Corp.
In a client note, S&P Capital IQ's Angelo Zino wrote, "We believe Avago is looking to remain aggressive with acquisitions as it looks to expand its addressable market. Over the last 13 months, Avago has transformed itself with acquisitions of LSI Logic, PLX Technology, and Emulex. We believe Broadcom made itself a more attractive target after exiting its baseband business."
Business Insider has reached out to Broadcom and Avago for comment.
Here's a chart showing the spike in Broadcom shares:
And in Avago shares:
