Qualcomm, NXP discuss merger

The deal could be the largest historic M&A push and make Qualcomm vie with TSMC as the third largest semiconductor company.

Qualcomm is in talks to buy NXP Semiconductors for more than $30 billion, according to multiple press reports. The reports have driven NXP's stock up about 15 percent to an estimated market capitalization of about $33 billion.

If the deal goes ahead, it could become one of the largest in a historic period of consolidation in semiconductors. NXP itself completed in December its merger with Freescale Semiconductors that it valued at $40 billion.

A combination of the two companies could vie with TSMC as the world's third largest semiconductor company with annual revenue of nearly $27 billion, according to rankings by IC Insights. It would still be significantly below second-ranked Samsung at about $40 billion.

The deal would propel Qualcomm into the embedded and automotive markets where it is seeking inroads amid declining growth in its core smartphone market. NXP was named the largest chip supplier to car makers in an analyst report that said it had a 14.2 percent share of the $27.4 billion automotive semiconductor market in 2015.

To read the full article, go to EE Times.