Qualcomm to acquire NXP Semiconductors for $47 billion

SAN FRANCISCO: Qualcomm Inc, the largest maker of mobilephone 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.

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% more than Wednesday’s close, the companies said in a statement on 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."

The purchase is Qualcomm's response to slowing growth in demand for smartphones, which provide the bulk of the company’s revenue. The two companies, which will have combined revenue of more than $30 billion, will have products that are capable of winning sales in markets worth $138 billion by 2020, Qualcomm predicted. Two years after the transaction closes, Qualcomm forecast $500 million of annual cost savings.