Well known mobile technology and chip design company Qualcomm confirmed reports Thursday that it plans to buy NXP Semiconductors (the Dutch semiconductor company) for the small price of £38 billion ($47 billion).
To put that into context, when Disney bought LucasFilm a couple years ago it only paid $4 billion. It told Wall Street that the combined company expected to report annual sales of £24 billion ($30 billion), with plans to bullishly elbow its way into “leadership positions across mobile, automotive, IoT, security, RF [radio frequency], and networking.” The Dutch owned NXP co-invented near-field communication (NFC) and operates in more than 35 countries.
This is a predicted move from Qualcomm, as it currently dominates the smartphone market with its constant releases of operating chips for flagship to lower end phones. It is the world’s largest supplier of SoCs for mobile devices and telecom equipment. Last year the company earned an estimated $25 billion dollars in revenue, and is expected to earn slightly more than that when this fiscal year is over
So what does it mean for us mere mortals? It will not affect us directly anytime soon, however we can expect to see the Qualcomm brand appearing in several different areas in the tech world.
