Shares of chipmaker NXP on wild ride amid conflicting reports about Chinese approval of Qualcomm bid

Simon Dawson | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Microprocessors sit on a circuit board labelled ‘true Automotive Ethernet’ at the NXP Semiconductors NV pavilion at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

Shares of NXP Semiconductors rose in extended trading Friday amid conflicting reports about whether Chinese regulators have approved Qualcomm’s proposal to acquire the smaller chipmaker.

NXP shares spiked more than 10 percent in after-hours trading Thursday following reports from South China Morning Post and Bloomberg, both citing sources, that China’s Ministry of Commerce approved the deal.

But the stock pared gains after Reuters, citing three sources, said China has not yet approved the acquisition.

NXP shares were trading 2 percent higher in premarket trading Friday. Qualcomm shares traded about two-thirds of a percent higher.

Eight of nine required global regulators have approved Qualcomm’s proposed $44 billion acquisition of NXP. China remains the only holdout, amid trade tensions with the U.S. over the deficit and intellectual property rights.