CHINA REGULATOR STILL OPEN TO TALKS ON SCRAPPED DEAL
SAMR says proposals to resolve antitrust concerns insufficient but hopes to continue communicating with Qualcomm
CHINA’S market regulator said it still hoped to find a solution to antitrust concerns that doomed Qualcomm Inc’s US$44 billion (RM178.64 billion) takeover of NXP Semiconductors, after finding that proposals to address the issue had fallen short.
Qualcomm abandoned on Thursday what would have been the world’s biggest-ever semiconductor sector takeover after a deadline the companies set passed without the deal winning China’s approval.
China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) said yesterday proposals put forth by the firms to resolve Chinese antitrust concerns were insufficient, but it hoped to continue communicating with Qualcomm.
The Chinese move likely comes too late for a resurrection of the deal, which became embroiled in a political spat between Washington and Beijing.
With the deal called off, the two companies have announced major share buybacks and Qualcomm has already paid NXP a US$2 billion breakup fee.
“Coming a day after the deadline, my guess is the SAMR statement is meant to counter perceptions the deal approval process was politicised, not to revive it,” said Andrew Gilholm, director of analysis for China and North Asia at consultancy Control Risks.
“Of course, this conflicts with the view among many people following the deal that the US-China situation had become the main obstacle, not the competition implications.”
The Chinese regulator said yesterday it was open to continuing negotiations over approving the deal. It added its current review period would expire on August 15, with an extended review deadline of October 14.