Qualcomm on Thursday announced it will be acquiring NXP Semiconductor in an all-cash deal valued at approximately $47 billion.
With the acquisition, Qualcomm is looking to diversify its business as sales of smartphones using its chips cool in saturated markets. NXP, a leading semiconductor supplier in the automotive industry, will almost certainly establish Qualcomm as a key supplier to companies looking to build smart vehicles.
Qualcomm isn't going after NXP just to satisfy its automotive ambitions. The combined company, which is expected to generate annual revenues of more than $30 billion, will also be in a position to be a market leader in the areas of networking, the Internet of Things and security - all of which are expected to becoming booming industries in the not-too-distant future.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf said it's no secret that they've been looking around. He said that if you look at their growth strategy, you'll see that it is to grow into adjacent markets when they are being disrupted by mobile technology.
NXP investors will receive $110 per share in cash, a substantial 11 percent premium over what shares closed at on Wednesday. Shares spiked at the end of September but prior to that, they were hovering around the $80 to $90 mark.
Barring any pushback from regulators, the transaction is expected to close by the end of 2017.