Word on the street is that the EU antitrust watchdogs don't have many problems with the deal. If they don't, then it is unlikely that the less regulated US authorities will have much of a problem either.

Qualcomm, which supplies chips to Android smartphone makers, is set to become the leading supplier to the fast growing automotive chip market following the deal, the largest ever in the semiconductor industry.

Regulators have dropped their concerns after accepting Qualcomm's pledge not to acquire standard essential and system-level patents belonging to NXP.

Qualcomm said in June it was confident of addressing the EU’s antitrust concerns and expected to close the NXP deal by the end of 2017.

The European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager said on Wednesday a ruling on Qualcomm’s proposed acquisition of NXP may come in 2018.

Qualcomm and NXP did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while the European Commission was not immediately available for comment.

Qualcomm recently rejected rival Broadcom $103-billion takeover bid, saying the offer undervalued the company and would face regulatory hurdles.