Former Chairman Of Qualcomm Reportedly Seeks Funding For Buyout

(RTTNews) - Paul Jacobs, the former chairman of Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM), has approached several investors in a bid to buy the chipmaker, which he once ran and was founded by his father, the Financial Times reported.

Jacobs has informed Qualcomm's board of his plans and approached companies including Japan's SoftBank Group to become one of the investors, the FT reported.

Trying to take the mobile-phone chipmaker private may be a last-ditch effort to preserve the Jacobs family's influence over the San Diego-based company they founded and buy more time for the current management team and its strategy, which have lost the support of public shareholders.

Earlier this week, U.S. President Donald Trump blocked Broadcom Ltd.'s hostile $117 billion bid for Qualcomm, saying the combination would result in reduced research and development spending, in turn compromising U.S. competitiveness and national security.