WASHINGTON: Singapore-based Broadcom said Wednesday it was cutting its offer for mobile chip maker Qualcomm by $3 to $79 a share in the wake of Qualcomm's revived effort to acquire Dutch rival NXP.
Qualcomm, the dominant maker of smartphone chips, has moved to fend off Broadcom's hostile takeover efforts and last week rejected the latest offer of $82 a share as too low.
The California company on Tuesday raised its offer for NXP to an estimated $43 billion, as part of its effort to prevent a takeover. A Qualcomm-NXP tie-up would make a Broadcom acquisition of Qualcomm less enticing.
Broadcom said Wednesday it remained committed to acquiring Qualcomm and its cash-and-stock offer would revert back to $82 per share should Qualcomm fail to acquire NXP.
The Singapore firm accused Qualcomm's board of acting against shareholder interest "by unilaterally transferring excessive value to NXP's activist shareholders."
"Broadcom remains confident that Qualcomm's stockholders will continue to support its proposal to acquire Qualcomm," Broadcom said in a statement.
Qualcomm is due to hold an annual meeting March 6 at which Broadcom has nominated six people to replace the majority of Qualcomm's board of directors.