Qualcomm Ups NXP Bid, Angers Broadcom

Qualcomm has increased its bid for NXP, the wireless chip company's latest move to stave off the unsolicited US$121 billion takeover bid from Broadcom.

Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM) originally offered $39 billion for NXP in October 2016, but has now upped that bid to $44 billion. (See Qualcomm Makes $39B Bet on NXP.)

This puts Broadcom Corp. (Nasdaq: BRCM) in an interesting situation: The Singapore-based silicon provider had originally stipulated that its own raised $121 billion bid for Qualcomm was contingent on Qualcomm not raising its offer for NXP. (See Broadcom Raises Offer for Qualcomm to $121B.)

Broadcom says it is "evaluating its options" following Qualcomm's move, but it can hardly disguise its anger: Broadcom adds that the revised offer for NXP "demonstrates the Qualcomm board's disregard for its fiduciary duty to maximize value for Qualcomm stockholders."

— Dan Jones, Mobile Editor, Light Reading