Qualcomm Inc. made headlines last month when the company announced it had dropped its bid for Dutch semiconductor company NXP Inc., which makes computer chips for automobiles, after failing to win approval from Chinese regulatory authorities for the acquisition. The aborted deal was widely regarded as a casualty of the Trump administration’s escalating trade war with China.

Earlier this year, the San Diego-based chipmaker itself narrowly escaped a hostile takeover by the telecom company Broadcom, thanks to a novel strategy initiated by the Washington-based firm Covington & Burling.