In December, Broadcom made its first formal move toward a hostile takeover of Qualcomm by nominating 11 directors to its rival's board. But Qualcomm – the world's biggest smartphone chip maker – rejected the 11 directors, setting the stage for a proxy battle. In March 2018, the Federal Trade Commission began an investigation into whether Broadcom engaged in anticompetitive tactics in negotiations with customers, casting further doubts on regulatory approval for potential deals. By mid-May of that year, the deal was dead in the water after President Donald Trump halted it on concerns that a takeover of Qualcomm by the Singapore-based company would erode the US's lead in mobile technology and give China the upper hand.