(Reuters) – Qualcomm Technologies Inc
Lenovo Group <0992.HK>, Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corp, vivo Communication Technology and Xiaomi Communications have expressed an interest in buying Qualcomm components with a total value of no less than $2 billion over three years, the U.S. chip maker said on Thursday.
The non-binding agreement will be subject to further agreements and covers technology related to RF Front-End components, Qualcomm said in a statement.
The companies announced the multi-year agreement at a Qualcomm-hosted event in Beijing attended by the U.S. firm’s chairman and chief executive.
At the event representatives from the Chinese companies expressed concerns that a possible acquisition of Qualcomm by Broadcom could hurt investment in chip technology.
Broadcom in November made an unsolicited $103 billion bid for Qualcomm, which Qualcomm says undervalues it.
A potential merger would likely face regulatory scrutiny in China, where Qualcomm has been fined before over anti-trust issues and where the government is promoting local chip production.
China aims to become a dominant global chip maker by 2030 and has allocated extensive public funding to support local firms.
“I was surprised about the reaction of some of those customers … but it’s probably what you would expect,” Qualcomm President Cristiano Amon told media.
China is currently Qualcomm’s second-largest market but will soon become its top market, said Amon.
(Reporting by Cate Cadell in Beijing and Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Hugh Lawson)
