The regulatory review and approval of NXP's purchase of Freescale is "progressing as anticipated," according to an NXP news release on October 13. The company expects to complete the deal, including the sale of NXP's power RF business, during the fourth quarter of 2015.

NXP has obtained regulatory approval for the Freescale acquisition from the European Union and is awaiting decisions from China, South Korea and the U.S.

NXP elected to sell their power RF business, known as high performance RF (HPRF), to avoid antitrust concerns. Freescale's RF business holds the largest share of the power LDMOS market, with NXP's HPRF the second largest player. Combined, the two companies would hold over 80 percent share.

NXP is selling HPRF to Beijing Jianguang Asset Management Co., Ltd. (JAC Capital), a Chinese investment firm with ties to the Chinese government. JAC Capital agreed to pay $1.8 billion for the RF business, which does approximately $450 million in annual revenue.

The sale of the RF power business to JAC Capital is being reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). The 45 day window for the CFIUS investigation will end on November 23, 2015, although the committee may complete the review sooner. On September 16, NXP's CEO Rick Clemmer discussed the CFIUS review during a meeting with financial analysts at a conference hosted by Deutsche Bank.