Irvine chipmaker Broadcom Corp. could be in the running to acquire NXP Semiconductors NV of the Netherlands, according to a report in a Dutch newspaper.
Broadcom is said to be looking at NXP along with Intel Corp. and Qualcomm Inc., according to the report in De Telegraaf, which cited an undisclosed banker as its source.
After the report Friday, NXP’s chief executive came out and said his company isn’t looking to sell but would consider a rich offer like Texas Instruments Inc. made for National Semiconductor Corp. on Monday.
Texas Instruments is paying $6.5 billion for National, or 78% more than the company was worth before the offer.
Broadcom Chief Executive Scott McGregor used to run NXP when it was the chip arm of Royal Philips Electronics NV.
Philips renamed the business NXP in 2006. Two years later, it was sold to a consortium of private equity investors led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
NXP went public last year with the private equity firms continuing to hold sizable stakes. It had a recent market value of about $8.5 billion.
The company makes chips for a range of uses, including for computer products and mobile phones.
NXP’s chips are used to make payments with mobile phones, an area Broadcom has targeted.
Last year, Broadcom paid $47.5 million for Britain’s Innovision Research & Technology PLC, which makes chips that allow for what is known as near field communication, or the wireless exchange of data within a matter of inches.
The technology is used to let people pay for things using their cells phones and payment readers, among other uses.
Broadcom makes chips for computers, networking gear and consumer electronics.
A buy of NXP would be a big one for Broadcom.
One analyst, Srini Pajjuri of Hong Kong’s CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets, believes Broadcom needs to make a big acquisition to remain competitive in wireless phones.
Recent moves by San Diego’s Qualcomm Inc. and Finland’s Nokia Corp. could crimp sales of Broadcom’s wireless chips, according to the analyst.
“We have long argued that (Broadcom) may need a larger acquisition, and the recent developments in the industry only hasten the need for such a move, in our view,” Pajjuri wrote in a research report.
Pajjuri cited Switzerland’s ST-Ericsson SA, which was formed in 2008 when NXP combined its wireless chip business with that of Switzerland’s STMicroelectronics NV.
