Qualcomm Director Scoffs At $121 Billion Offer By Broadcom, Raises Own Bid For NXP

Earlier this month, Broadcom raised its bid to take over Qualcomm to $121 billion, which would have made it the biggest acquisition in the tech industry’s history. The latter unequivocally rejected the offer with the company’s lead director, Tim Horton saying that it was nowhere near what Qualcomm was worth. Subsequently, the mobile chip maker has also raised its bid to acquire NXP to $44 billion.

NXP is another semiconductor company that Qualcomm has been eyeing for some time. The move to sweeten the deal is seen as the latter’s show of defiance against the hostile takeover that Broadcom seems to be going for, Reuters reports.

Increasing the bid also puts Broadcom on the defensive while providing Qualcomm more time to convince investors that the company has more to gain by staying where it is. As a result, Broadcom is now evaluating its options while saying that Qualcomm isn’t sticking to its approach that it calls “full and fair.”

Far from shrinking from the outcome of the bid, however, Horton told the publication that acquiring NXP would be great for Qualcomm. It could lead to a better position for the company, especially if the Broadcom deal falls through.

“It makes Qualcomm stronger and more profitable and diversified if there is no deal with Broadcom, and if we do decide to pursue a sale the same is true, more value would accrue to the Qualcomm shareholders,” Horton said.

Horton also spoke to CNBC on the matter of rejecting Broadcom’s supposed “best and final” offer, saying that it wasn’t even close to what the company was worth. He also mentioned the impending NXP acquisition, along with potential fruits of its labor in 5G wireless connection.

"We're on the verge of reaping the benefits of all the investments we've made in 5G, which is rolling out in a very profound way over the next couple of years," Horton explained. "And we've just closed up the NXP deal which has $1.50 of accretion inherent in it so that part of the puzzle has now been put in place."