One of the most prevailing headlines of 2016 surrounded SoftBank and ARM. In particular, the fact that SoftBank acquired ARM. A move which was seen by the market as a fairly big acquisition (for both companies) and one which followed a spate of acquisitions within the industry in general. Now, there are reports coming through of a new acquisition that looks as though it could be on the table and one which would likely trump the ARM/SoftBank deal in terms of impact.
According to a new report coming out of the Wall Street Journal today, chipmaker Qualcomm is in talks to pick up semiconductor company, NXP Semiconductors NV. If true, this could prove to be an interesting acquisition for Qualcomm and certainly for the semiconductor industry in general. While this would likely be seen as a bigger deal than the ARM/SoftBank deal, according to the details it won’t be as financially big. As the WSJ reports that the figure suggested that Qualcomm will pay for NXP is $30 billion. An amount which falls just shy of the $32 billion SoftBank paid for ARM.
While rumors like this are just that, rumors, the report does interestingly drive home the point that these are currently just talks. The information is said to be coming from the typical “people familiar with the matter” and does suggest that a deal could be finalized as soon as “in the next two to three months”. Although the same sources are reported to be making it clear that a deal might not come at all as Qualcomm is said to be ‘exploring other options’ as well.
While it is not clear what the immediate or even long-term goals would be for Qualcomm in making such an acquisition it is thought that acquiring NXP would go some way in helping Qualcomm further expand into other areas like the automotive industry – an industry which is already largely expected to see major growth in the years ahead. Either way, what will happen is that Qualcomm will be expanding its portfolio greatly by such an acquisition. Although, as mentioned, at the moment it is just a rumor with no confirmation coming through from either side that they are in fact, in talks.