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Qualcomm To Buy NXP Semiconductors in $47 Billion Deal (bloomberg.com)

Posted by msmash on from the big-shark,-small-shark dept.

Qualcomm, the largest maker of mobile-phone chips, will acquire NXP Semiconductors NV in a transaction valued at $47 billion, aiming to speed an expansion into new industries and reduce its dependence on the smartphone market. Bloomberg reports: San Diego-based Qualcomm agreed to pay $110 a share in cash for NXP, the biggest supplier of chips used in the automotive industry, or 11 percent more than Wednesday's close, the companies said in a statement Thursday. The deal will be funded with cash on hand as well as new debt. Chief Executive Officer Steve Mollenkopf is betting the deal, the largest in the chip industry's history, will accelerate his company's entry into the burgeoning market for electronics in cars. Eindhoven, Netherlands-based NXP is strong in that sector following its acquisition last year of Freescale Semiconductor Ltd. "It's no secret that we've been looking around," Mollenkopf said in an interview. "If you look at our growth strategy it's to grow into adjacent markets at the time that they are being disrupted by the technology of mobile."

5 of 40 comments (clear)

  1. NXP = NFC by darkain · · Score: 4, Informative

    NXP is also synonymous with NFC technology. This is entirely missed in both the summary and TFA it appears.

    1. Re:NXP = NFC by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 3, Funny

      NXP is also synonymous with NFC technology

      So who specializes in AFC technology?

  2. Semiconductor market shrinking by unixisc · · Score: 4, Interesting

    So the number of semiconductor companies continues to shrink. I noticed some time back how Intel's Numonyx has been a part of Micron, AMD's Spansion has been a part of Cypress, and now I read that Freescale had been gobbled by NXP, which now is eaten by Qualcomm.

    All these companies might as well formally become design arms of real fabs, like TSMC, GSMC, Samsung, et al

    1. Re:Semiconductor market shrinking by BarneyGuarder · · Score: 2

      It's not really shrinking, it is maturing. Over the last few decades the semiconductor market has moved from a relatively large number of smaller disruptive companies to a relatively small number of larger streamlined companies. As an example, consider how many CPU architectures there were in the '80s and '90s. You had x86, 680x0, MIPS, Alpha, SPARC, PA-RISC, just to name a few. Now there is x86 (the modern version of it) and ARM.

      You can also look at car companies in the first half of the 20th century. Lincoln, Cadillac, Oldsmobile, Dodge, et. al. were independent car companies when cars were still new. They were acquired by what became the "Big Three" US automakers before the merger of Dialmer-Chrysler. Maybe electric vehicles will be enough of a disruptive market to foster more auto companies.

      The large development costs and relatively stable products of mature markets favor large, streamlined companies that can benefit from economies of scale. The fast changing nature of new markets favor small agile companies that can be disruptive. We are in the later stages of the maturation of the semiconductor industry.

    2. Re:Semiconductor market shrinking by thegarbz · · Score: 2

      I see another trend. The small companies with very helpful engineering teams and fantastic support are being gobbled up by companies who specialise in hiding behind NDAs.

      I wonder if this is sustainable.