Tan took a crack at Qualcomm’s business practices which have left it with heavy fines from national regulators.

“The last three years, we realised Qualcomm was hit with fines which are more than what they made in profit over last three quarters,” said Tan, “that’s not a business model that is sustainable, that is broken.”

“We will transition, we will reset the business model, so it’s not a contentious model,”said Tan.

Tan also had a dig at Qualcomm’s financials. “With the kinds of financials they have delivered the last five, ten years, no index fund will own them,” said Tan.

“The only real question is: are Qualcomm shareholders better off today than they were four years ago?” asked Tan. “No, they are 11% poorer. Broadcom shareholders are 500% richer.”

Tan said he is encouraged by the attitude of Qualcomm’s shareholders.

“We have gone to shareholders, a lot of Qualcomm’s most significant shareholders, and it’s overwhelming,” said Tan, “in the last two months, we’ve been — my CFO and I — have been on the road the entire time, meeting virtually the entire shareholder base of Qualcomm, and getting strong support. We believe they want their board to engage with us; we are asking their board to negotiate a merger agreement with us by March 6th.”

On the key Qualcomm defence that regulatory approval for the deal is unlikely, Tan said: “The two companies are highly complimentary. Our core businesses do not compete. That’s a clear path to regulatory approval, and we have the track record.”

“We have identified the two areas of overlap. (Wifi/Bluetooth and RF front ends), “ said Tan, “we have made the best efforts to clear what is fairly routine, that’s why we say low regulatory risk.”

He’s so confident of regulatory approval that he’s offering to pay $8 billion if regulators stop the bid.

“I’m a pretty frugal guy,” said Tan, “you think I’d put up $8 billion if I thought there was any chance that would happen?”