Xi Open to Approving Qualcomm-NXP Deal if Presented Again: U.S. – Bloomberg
What happened: President Xi Jinping said he would be willing to consider approving US chip-maker Qualcomm’s once-failed $44 billion bid for NXP Semiconductors if the option were presented to him again, according to the White House. The statement came last Saturday at a dinner during which President Trump also declared a temporary hold on a planned increase in tariffs. Due to trade tensions Chinese antitrust authorities originally withheld their approval of the Qualcomm-NXP deal, causing it to eventually fall through.
Why it’s important: Qualcomm’s purchase of its rival NXP would have helped to solidify its standing, but instead the firm ended up paying a $2 billion breakup fee and spent another $22.6 billion buying back its own stock over a 12-month period. The bid was the most prominent to fail as a result of trade tensions between China and the US. Xi’s declaration that he would reconsider the deal reflects renewed hope that those tensions can be resolved over the 90 days that the ceasefire will last. However, the tentative offer also shows the uncertainty of the current situation, which has affected companies on either side of the dispute.