Qualcomm's Paul Jacobs is considering an acquisition bid for the company and so will not rejoin the firm as a member of the board of directors.
On Friday, Qualcomm said[1] the former executive chairman and CEO will not rejoin the board of directors at Qualcomm's Annual Meeting of Stockholders on 23 March 2018.
Jacobs left his post on 9 March in the midst of a hostile takeover bid[2] from
Singapore-based Broadcom and the role of executive chairman was discontinued. The executive has served as chairman of the Board of Qualcomm since 2009, as executive chairman since 2014 and as a director since 2005.
The executive also served as an executive vice president from 2000 to 2005, Group President of Qualcomm Wireless & Internet from 2001 to 2005, and CEO from 2005 to 2014.
The annual meeting will comprise of 10 directors and the current members chose not to reelect Jacobs "following his notification to the board that he has decided to explore the possibility of making a proposal to acquire Qualcomm."
"Following the withdrawal of Broadcom's takeover proposal, Qualcomm is focused on executing its business plan and maximizing value for shareholders as an independent company," the tech giant said. "There can be no assurance that Dr. Jacobs can or will make a proposal, but, if he does, the board will of course evaluate it consistent with its fiduciary duties to shareholders."
The Financial Times reports[3] that the demoted executive has approached a number of global investors to potentially take Qualcomm private.
According to the publication, Japanese conglomerate SoftBank's Vision Fund[4] is a potential investor that Jacobs has