On October 10, according to an announcement on the official website of China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), the regulator has launched an investigation into Qualcomm for allegedly violating China's Anti-Monopoly Law by failing to properly declare its acquisition of Autotalks as required by law for business concentration transactions.
Autotalks is a fabless semiconductor company established in 2008, specializing in V2X communication products. The company was the first to launch the world's first dedicated V2X chipset, with products supporting all major global communication standards, including DSRC and C-V2X (covering LTE-V2X and 5G-V2X).
In May 2023, Qualcomm announced its plan to acquire Autotalks, intending to integrate V2X technology into its Snapdragon Digital Chassis platform. Through this transaction, Qualcomm aimed to further expand its automotive electronics portfolio.
Despite reaching a preliminary acquisition agreement, the transaction process has not been smooth. Due to its involvement in sensitive areas such as automotive communication security, wireless spectrum usage, and industry standard competition, this deal has been under close scrutiny from multiple regulatory authorities including the EU, UK, and US over the past few years.
Qualcomm announced the termination of the acquisition plan in 2024, but after approximately one year of negotiations and plan adjustments, the company announced the completion of the transaction again in June this year, with the Autotalks team officially joining Qualcomm's automotive business division. Reports suggest that Qualcomm ultimately completed the acquisition for $80-90 million, significantly lower than the initially rumored $350-400 million.
Qualcomm has not responded to the aforementioned investigation. However, affected by the news, Qualcomm's US pre-market trading declined, falling nearly 3% as of press time.
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