Shares of NXP Semiconductors jumped 10.3 percent in the premarket Monday on a report that Chinese regulators will restart a review of Qualcomm’s takeover bid for the company.
Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce has been asked to hasten the deal’s review as well as Qualcomm’s plans to protect local companies. Qualcomm shares climbed about 3 percent on the report.
Qualcomm is proposing to buy NXP for $127.50 a share, or $44 billion. The deal has received approval from eight of nine global regulators for the acquisition moving forward. Chinese regulators have been the only holdouts, noting the deal could hurt competition within the chipmaker sector.
The report is another indication that U.S.-China trade relations appear to be thawing. On Sunday, President Donald Trump said he would help Chinese cell phone maker ZTE “get back into business, fast.” This comes after the U.S. imposed a ban on exports from U.S. companies to ZTE earlier this year.
In a tweet, the president said: “President Xi of China, and I, are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast. Too many jobs in China lost. Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done!”
A spokesperson for NXP told CNBC in an email that the company “has a policy to not comment on rumors, speculation or ongoing regulatory matters.” Qualcomm did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
