The CA deal comes just four months after U.S. President Donald Trump blocked Broadcom's $117 billion hostile bid for semiconductor peer Qualcomm Inc, arguing it posed a threat to U.S. national security and gave an edge to Chinese companies looking to build next-generation wireless networks.

Under the terms of the agreement, which has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies, CA's shareholders will receive $44.50 per share in cash. The all-cash transaction represents an equity value of approximately $18.9 billion, and an enterprise value of approximately $18.4 billion.

Hock Tan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Broadcom, said, "This transaction represents an important building block as we create one of the world's leading infrastructure technology companies. With its sizeable installed base of customers, CA is uniquely positioned across the growing and fragmented infrastructure software market, and its mainframe and enterprise software franchises will add to our portfolio of mission critical technology businesses. We intend to continue to strengthen these franchises to meet the growing demand for infrastructure software solutions."

"We are excited to have reached this definitive agreement with Broadcom," said Mike Gregoire, CA Technologies Chief Executive Officer. "This combination aligns our expertise in software with Broadcom's leadership in the semiconductor industry. The benefits of this agreement extend to our shareholders who will receive a significant and immediate premium for their shares, as well as our employees who will join an organization that shares our values of innovation, collaboration and engineering excellence. We look forward to completing the transaction and ensuring a smooth transition."

Broadcom's chips power smartphones, computers and networking equipment. CA, on the other hand, specializes in software for so-called mainframes, big servers that companies are gradually replacing with cloud computing, and has been seeking to expand in business software.

The disparate corners of the technology market the two companies occupy mean that Broadcom will benefit primarily from CA's recurring revenue, rather than operational synergies.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including the approval of CA shareholders and antitrust approvals in the U.S., the EU and Japan. It is expected to close in the fourth calendar quarter of 2018.