5G networks behind Trump's decision to block Qualcomm takeover

Telecommunications supplier Qualcomm Inc. tumbled on Tuesday after President Trump blocked its $117 billion takeover by Singapore-based Broadcom, a deal the government feared would cost the U.S. its edge in developing fifth-generation wireless networks.

Broadcom’s comments on the proposal, which it planned to take directly to shareholders after a management rebuff, indicated it might employ a private-equity approach, cutting Qualcomm’s investment in building new technology to generate as much short-term profit as possible, the Treasury Department’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. said in a letter to the two companies.