In the rather amazing year of 2016 we have witnessed several takeovers of important semiconductor manufacturers by hungry competitors. Only a few months ago Freescale was bought by NXP for 12 billion dollars, now we discover the rumor that Qualcomm, the manufacturer of the Snapdragon processor family found in many smartphones, would have the intention to take over NXP for some 30 billion dollars.

According to the Wall Street Journal the takeover could be concluded within the next few months. Of course it is only an unconfirmed rumor that we picked up on the net, and the deal may not come through, yet it is another indication that semiconductor manufacturers are feeling an urgent need to grow in order to survive.

In the meantime Analog Devices just took out a loan for 5 billion dollars and some more to finance the takeover of Linear Technology.