The Wall Street Journal: Qualcomm CEO still expects NXP deal to close later this year

LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. — Qualcomm Inc. said its $39 billion acquisition of NXP Semiconductors NV is on schedule to close by the end of the year, paving the way for it to be a major player in autonomous driving.

“We are still on track to close this year,” Qualcomm Chief Executive Steve Mollenkopf said in an interview on Tuesday at The Wall Street Journal’s WSJ D.Live tech conference. When asked about speculation that the company might have to raise its price for NXP, he said: “I don’t think there’s anything unusual regarding our discussions.” He said the company was focused on planning and other aspects of the acquisition.

Since Qualcomm

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  signing the deal for the Dutch semiconductor maker a year ago, NXP’s performance has been strong. That prompted New York-based hedge fund Elliott Management Corp., which announced in August it took a 6% stake in NXP

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 , to say that the shares were undervalued and raise questions about the terms of the tie-up.

As for its ongoing lawsuit against Apple Inc.

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 , Mollenkopf said the dispute is “fundamentally about pricing” — over the technology that makes the iPhone. “I think we’ll get through it,” he said, adding that Qualcomm has a strong relationship with Apple. “For big companies, you sometimes have these disputes but you have a broader relationship.”

An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.

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