Qualcomm extended its deadline for the conclusion of the $44 billion bid to acquire Dutch NXP Semiconductors until Friday, April 6, the San Diego, California-based tech giant said Monday. As of last Thursday, the last day of trading prior to the announcement of the latest extension, 50,848,182 NXP common shares or approximately 14.8-percent of all outstanding shares have been tendered. The last extension announced on March 23 was confirmed when around 15.1-percent of all NXP outstanding shares have been tendered.

The move comes amid growing uncertainty about the eventual outcome of the proposed consolidation that’s still being blocked by China’s antitrust watchdog. Recent reports suggested Beijing is pushing for Qualcomm to agree to more economic protections for Chinese companies but it’s presently unclear how the negotiations between the duo have been progressing in the last several weeks. China has jurisdiction over the matter due to the fact that both Qualcomm and NXP conduct business in the Far Eastern country on a significant scale. For much the same reasons, the deal has also been reviewed by authorities in South Korea, European Union, and a number of other regulators around the planet. The chipmaker enjoyed support from a wide variety of major smartphone makers in China during its efforts to fight off a hostile takeover attempt from Broadcom earlier this year. The potential consolidation was eventually shot down by Washington, with President Donald Trump signing an order demanding Broadcom immediately ceases all advances toward Qualcomm last month.

Qualcomm’s inability to complete the NXP tie-up in a swifter manner is widely believed to have played a part in Broadcom’s decision to go after the company in the first place, with many industry watchers speculating the Singapore-based technology firm sensed corporate weakness on Qualcomm’s part due to the prolonged nature of the deal that was initially announced in October of 2016. China is the only remaining regulator that has yet to greenlight the merger, whereas NXP showed no intentions of walking away from it despite significant regulatory scrutiny it’s been subjected to in recent times.

 

Editor’s Note: This is a guest Post from Androidheadlines.