Qualcomm’s bid for Israel’s Autotalks requires approval from the EU antitrust authority

Authors: Foo Yun Chee and Sudip Kar-Gupta

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm will have to get EU antitrust approval for its planned takeover of Israeli car chipmaker Autotalks, even though the deal is below the European Union’s turnover threshold, EU regulators said on Friday.

The European Commission highlighted the importance of this transaction for original equipment manufacturers and others who need access to vehicle-to-everything (V2X) semiconductors.

The EU competition watchdog said 15 EU countries, including France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Sweden, had asked it to investigate the deal.

It said Qualcomm would need to obtain approval from the EU antitrust authority before it could complete the deal.

“The transaction would combine two major V2X semiconductor suppliers in the EEA (European Economic Area). V2X technology is key to improving road safety, traffic management and reducing CO2 emissions, as well as the implementation of autonomous vehicles,” he added. The commission said in a statement.

“It is therefore important to ensure that customers such as original equipment manufacturers or infrastructure managers have access to V2X technology at competitive prices and terms.”

Qualcomm, which in May announced a planned acquisition to expand its automotive business, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Autotalks produces dedicated chips used in the V2X communications technology sector for manned and autonomous vehicles to improve road safety.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta Editing by Jason Neely and Mark Potter)