Qualcomm says it will drop NXP bid, barring last-second reprieve
BEIJING/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Qualcomm Inc (QCOM.O), the world's biggest maker of chips for mobile phones, on Wednesday said it intends to drop its bid to buy Dutch chipmaker NXP Semiconductors (NXPI.O) after so far failing to secure approval from China against the backdrop of wider Sino-U.S. trade tensions. The $44 billion bid was the largest-ever merger in the semiconductor industry when announced in October 2016, just days before the election of U.S. President Donald Trump, and would hand Qualcomm a new market as growth in mobile phone demand slows. The deal became embroiled in a trade standoff between China and the United States, two countries who have clashed on issues including ownership of technology and patents.