Broadcom Co-Founder Arrested On Drug Charges in Vegas

Broadcom is back in the headlines this week, but not because of more M&A drama.

Co-founder Henry T. Nicholas III was arrested this week in Las Vegas on suspicion of narcotics trafficking after police discovered heroin, cocaine, meth and ecstasy in his suite at the Encore hotel, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.

Las Vegas Metropolitan police detained Nicholas and a woman, Ashley Fargo, Tuesday after hotel security called the police to the room, it said. Nicholas and Fargo were arrested and booked on suspicion of trafficking heroin, cocaine, MDMA and meth.

Nicholas stepped down as chief executive of Broadcom in 2003. The company isn’t commenting on the arrest.

Earlier this year, President Trump stopped Broadcom’s acquisition of Qualcomm, saying it was necessary to protect national security.

And last month, Broadcom announced it is making an $18.9 billion bid for CA Technologies in a deal that one analyst, Channel Partners contributor Michael Finneran, of dBrn Associates, said makes little sense. In response to the acquisition, Broadcom lost $19 billion in market value as its stock plunged 19 percent to $197.50 —  the company’s worst day ever, according to a Reuters report.