Mergers: Commission opens in-depth investigation into Qualcomm’s proposed acquisition of NXP

On 9 June 2017 the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation to assess the proposed acquisition of NXP by Qualcomm under the EU Merger Regulation. The Commission's concerns were that the transaction could lead to higher prices, less choice and reduced innovation in the semiconductor industry.

Qualcomm is a leading semiconductors company, which develops and supplies integrated circuits for mobile devices, notably cellular baseband chips. Qualcomm also licenses the rights to its intellectual property portfolio, including rights to patents which are essential to the implementation within wireless production of cellular communication standards.

NXP Semiconductors manufactures and sells different categories of semiconductors, including semiconductors for the automotive sector and semiconductors for the mobile device sector, notably, NFC solutions.