Qualcomm Inc. has made a $4.6 billion offer to buy auto-technology company Veoneer Inc., moving to outbid Magna International Inc. as the semiconductor company’s new chief seeks to expand beyond the core mobile-phone chip business.
Chips have become ever more central to modern cars, with roles in everything from automated driving to the electronics that adjust seat position. More recently, driver-assistance features that use computers to help control speed and steering have found their way into a larger share of auto makers’ product lineups.
Qualcomm said Thursday it bid $37 a share for Veoneer. The offer comes two weeks after the Swedish company agreed to be acquired by Magna International, a Canadian auto-parts supplier, in an all-cash deal. Qualcomm is proposing to pay in cash at an 18.4% premium to the Magna offer.
Veoneer, which was spun out of automotive-safety company Autoliv Inc. three years ago, makes sensors such as radar, lidar and camera-based systems that allow computers to take a greater role in driving.
Veoneer, in a statement Thursday, said its board of directors would “evaluate the proposal from Qualcomm consistent with its legal duties and the terms of the Magna merger agreement,” adding “the merger agreement remains in place.”