LOS ANGELES - US smartphone chip supplier Qualcomm on Wednesday criticized Singapore-based microchip maker Broadcom for lowering its bid to acquire Qualcomm earlier in the day, saying it made an "inadequate offer even worse".

"Broadcom's reduced proposal has made an inadequate offer even worse despite the clear increase in value to Qualcomm stockholders from providing certainty around the NXP acquisition," the Californian chipmaker said in a statement.

"Broadcom has refused and continues to refuse to engage with Qualcomm on price," Qualcomm said.

Qualcomm is currently in a bid to acquire its Dutch rival chipmaker NXP Semiconductors. On Tuesday, Qualcomm increased its offer for NXP to $127.50 per share to reinforce the bid, and to potentially fend off its own unwanted suitor Broadcom.

The $44 billion deal to acquire NXP started one week after Qualcomm leaders met with Broadcom executives to discuss a $146 billion buyout, according to media reports. The chipmaker has rejected buyout offers from Broadcom twice.

Early this month, Qualcomm announced that its Board of Directors has unanimously rejected the revised non-binding, unsolicited proposal by Broadcom to acquire all outstanding shares of Qualcomm for $82.00 per share ($60.00 in cash and $22.00 in Broadcom stock), which Broadcom announced on Feb 5.

Broadcom announced early Wednesday that it would lower the bid to $79.00 per share ($57.00 in cash and $22.00 in Broadcom stock), following Qualcomm's decision to raise its bid for NXP Semiconductors.

"Qualcomm's leading SoC (system on a chip) capabilities and technology roadmap, coupled with NXP's differentiated position in Automotive, Security and IoT (Internet of Things), offers a compelling value proposition," Steve Mollenkopf, CEO of Qualcomm Incorporated, was quoted as saying in a statement.

In the statement, Qualcomm officials said NXP technology would bolster their company's products for the next-generation 5G wireless standard.

Qualcomm is the world's largest supplier of long-term evolution baseband chip sets, which enable smartphones and tablets to connect to cellular networks and are used both for voice and data transmission.