Qualcomm has thrown its weight around, announcing that it is acquiring NXP Semiconductor for $47bn in an all cash deal. Based in the Netherlands, NXP is the fifth-largest non-memory chip maker in the world, following its acquisition of Freescale, and has a notable lead in the automotive market. Principally, this market position is what Qualcomm is targeting with the acquisition, and cars built today include a surprising amount of silicon – but not much which currently exists in Qualcomm’s portfolio. With NXP, Qualcomm moves into a market with some pretty solid growth potential, and diversifies from its mobile-centric portfolio. It’s a sign of the times mostly, and one that shareholders and investors appear to agree with. Consolidation in the semiconductor…