China Delays Deal Reviews as U.S. Trade Frictions Build

Qualcomm and Bain Capital are most at risk if the delays scuttle their respective deals

Lingling Wei and

Yoko Kubota in Beijing and

Takashi Mochizuki in Tokyo

Updated April 13, 2018 1:35 p.m. ET

BEIJING—China is slowing reviews of multibillion-dollar takeover deals being pursued by Qualcomm Inc. and Bain Capital, people familiar with the matter say, as U.S.-China trade tensions escalate.

The delay could end up quashing Qualcomm’s planned $44 billion purchase of Dutch semiconductor company NXP Semiconductors NV—a deal widely seen as critical to Qualcomm’s future—according to a person familiar with the matter.

China...