NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ: NXPI) shares are trading fractionally lower (-0.2%) in pre-open trade Wednesday following news that European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager said a ruling on Qualcomm's (NASDAQ: QCOM) proposed acquisition of the company may come in 2018.

Previous reports indicated that Qualcomm offered to acquire NXP without some patents to appease EU antitrust regulators.

Meanwhile, Qualcomm is fending off a hostile overture from Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO). Broadcom said it would acquire Qualcomm with or without the NXP deal.

NXP shares are currently trading about $5 above Qualcomm's $110 per share offer on hopes for a higher bid. Shares had been as high as $118.20, but have moved lower as the Broadcom situation has added a degree of uncertainty.