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BROADCOM BOMBSHELL

And just like that, President Donald Trump killed Broadcom's proposed hostile takeover of Qualcomm.

On Monday evening, Trump issued an executive order that prohibits Broadcom from acquiring the chipmaker for roughly $117 billion, citing national security concerns. As part of the order, all of Broadcom’s director nominees are also disqualified from standing for election as directors of Qualcomm.

In a statement, Broadcom said it “strongly disagrees that its proposed acquisition of Qualcomm raises any national security concerns.”

The president based his decision on “credible evidence” that caused him to believe that Broadcom — if able to purchase Qualcomm — “might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States.” If the acquisition had gone through, it would have been the largest tech deal in history.

Although Broadcom is based in Singapore, it was reportedly China that was Trump’s main cause for concern. The deal would require an American technology company to cede its control in the semiconductor and wireless industry. Just several months ago, however, Trump was touting Broadcom’s return to the United States as an example of a Fortune 100 company bringing back jobs to the country.

This is a rather unusual move that certainly raises questions around how far the Trump administration is willing to go to defend its protectionist policies and whether intervening in the private sector will become a norm.

My colleague Jonathan Vanian reports further:

Daniel Ives of GBH Insights said in a research note that while Broadcom could potentially challenge the order, it’s not likely to make a difference. He wrote that “the Trump edict essentially kills any chances of this deal happening and is a major gut punch to those Qualcomm bulls hoping this soap opera could end with a bid following pressure from the shareholder meeting, which is poised to happen next month after getting delayed.”

“While Qualcomm still remains an M&A candidate for another chip player, this deal dissolving is a clear positive for Intel which is in a further position of strength with the potential marriage of Broadcom and Qualcomm now broken up by the Beltway before it even got to the altar,” Ives wrote.

Read more at Fortune.

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• South Korea is planning to allow ICOs and regulate crypto trading after all (by Eli Meixler)

VENTURE DEALS

• Scout Exchange, a Boston and Chicago-based platform for marketplace recruiting, has raised $100 million in funding. The investor was TRI Ventures, John Chuang‘s investment vehicle.

• TurnKey Vacation Rentals Inc, an Austin, Texas-based vacation rental property management, raised $31 million in Series D funding. Adams Street Partners led the round, and was joined by investors including Altos Ventures.

• Carbon Lighthouse, a San Francisco-based clean energy company specializing in serving commercial real estate investors, hospitality, and the private education markets, raised $27 million in funding. GRC SinoGreen led the round, and was joined by investors including JCI Ventures, Ulupono Initiative; SV Tech Ventures, Radicle Impact Partners, Steve Girsky, Ekistic Ventures, and JB Straubel.

• Yogome, a Mexico-based provider of digital learning and children’s education, raised $26.9 million in Series B funding. Exceed Capital Partners led the round, and was joined by investors including Seaya Ventures, Insight Venture Partners and Variv Capital.

• Airspace Systems Inc., a San Leandro, Calif.-based manufacturer of comprehensive drone defense systems, raised $20 million in Series A funding. Singtel Innov8 led the round, and was joined by investors including s28 Capital, Shasta Ventures and Granite Hill Capital Partners.

• Carsome, a Malaysia-based used car platform, raised $19 million in Series B funding. Burda Principal Investments led the round, and was joined by investors including Gobi Partners, InnoVen Capital and Lumia Capital.

• Imply, a Burlingame, Calif.-based data analytics company, raised $13.3 million in Series A funding. Andreessen Horowitz led the round, and was joined by investors including Khosla Ventures.

• Voci Technologies, a Pittsburgh-based provider of enterprise speech-to-text transcription and analytics, raised $8 million in Series B funding. Grotech Ventures and Harbert Growth Partners led the round.

• Artland, a Copenhagen-based mobile art app that connects art collectors and galleries worldwide, raised $1 million in seed funding. Investors include Mikkel Hansen, Andreas Helgstrand, Shaka Loveless, and Nicolas Michaelsen.

HEALTH AND LIFE SCIENCES DEALS

• TAE Life Sciences, a Foothill Ranch, Calif.-based developer of treatments for difficult to treat cancers, raised $40 million in Series A funding. ARTIS Ventures led the round.

PRIVATE EQUITY DEALS

• Warburg Pincus is investing more than $370 million in Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank, a Vietnam-based provider of personal and corporate banking services, according to Reuters. Read more.

• Kellermeyer Bergensons Services LLC, which is backed by GI Partners, acquired Emmaculate Reflections, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based provider of contract cleaning and facility support services to major restaurant chains. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

• Beekman Investment Partners recapitalized REVA, a Cleveland-based fixed wing air medical platform. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal that was done alongside Directional Aviation LLC and Goldman Sachs Specialty Lending Group.

• LongWater Opportunities acquired Kalisher, a Carrboro, N.C.-based provider of hospitality art services. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

• GI Partners acquired Togetherwork, a Columbus, Ga.-based developer of group management software and payments solutions, from Aquiline Capital Partners. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

• Shamrock Capital invested in Wpromote, an El Segundo, Calif.-based digital marketing agency. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

IPOs

• China Sinochem Group, a Beijing oil producer, is calling for banks to make pitches ahead of a potential $2 billion IPO in Hong Kong of key oil assets, Reuters reports citing sources. Read more.

• Energy Commercial Bank, a Ghanan financial institution, will seek an IPO in the country raising abou 330 million cedis, or $75 million. IC Securities is transaction advisor in the deal, Bloomberg reports. Read more.

EXITS

• BlueLinx Corporation, a subsidiary of BlueLinx Holdings Inc. (NYSE:BXC), agreed to acquire Cedar Creek Holdings, Inc., an Oklahoma City, Okla.-based distributor of lumber and building materials, for an aggregate purchase price of $413 million. The seller was Charlesbank Capital Partners.

• AMP Capital agreed to acquire Everstream Solutions LLC, a Cleveland, Ohio-based super-regional network service provider bringing fiber-based ethernet, internet and data center solutions to businesses in the Midwest. The sellers include M/C Partners, J.P. Morgan Asset Management and Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

• Patricia Industries, which is part of Investor AB, agreed to acquire the majority of Sarnova, a Dublin, Ohio-based distributor of healthcare products to national emergency care providers. The seller was Water Street Healthcare Partners. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

• Apple is acquiring Next Issue Media, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based application provider that allows users to consume all or part of more than 200 magazines. Financial terms weren't disclosed. Next Issue media had raised approximately $50 million in venture funding from investors including KKR.

• The Clorox Company agreed to acquire Nutranext, a Sunrise, Fla.-based maker of dietary and nutritional supplements, for $700 million. The seller is WM Partners.

• JZ Capital Partners Ltd agreed to sell Bolder Healthcare Solutions, a Louisville, Ky.-based provider of revenue cycle management solutions. Cognizant is the buyer. JZCP will realize about $108 million in gross proceeds from this sale.

• Patricia Industries agreed to acquire Sarnova Holdings, Inc , a provider of healthcare products to national emergency care providers. The sellers include Water Street Healthcare Partners and Sarnova founder Matthew D. Walter.

• ICV Partners acquired Outpatient Imaging Affiliates, a Franklin, Tenn.-based provider of outpatient radiology services. The sellers include MedCare Investment Funds.

• Palamon Capital Partners agreed to sell OberScharrer Group, a Germany-based ophthalmology group, to Nordic Capital. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.