Lets see: Apple + Avago have what appears to be a good working relationship. Apple over the past 9-12 months have done their best to bring QCOM to their knees, suing them and questioning the legitimacy of their business model. Along come AVGO with a take-under offer of $70. In the background, Apple are waiting in the wings to lead a consortium (AAPL/GOOGL/Sammy/Huawei... ) to acquire QTL, which makes Apple's royalty problem go away. In return AVGO get the #1 slot in the iPhone, and Apple no longer require Intel's inferior modem product. Its a classic sting... Hollywood style! INTC perhaps have the most to lose if Apple's royalty problem goes away, i.e. they lose their only modem customer, while QCT's gross margin in the mid 40's could be 60%+ manufactured in Intel's fab's. I would find it strange if Intel were not drawn into this situation and contemplate the cost of someone else acquiring QCOM - could still spin QTL, and put themselves in pole position in wireless, with lots of margin accretion by internalizing production.
Add in the intrigue surrounding Qualcomm's recent lawsuit against Apple over misappropriation and misuse of QCT source code and sharing with Intel, and the plot thickens. If Apple's hand has been indeed caught in the source code cookie jar, and Apple/Intel are enjoined from using Intel chips containing QCT source code, it will be checkmate, necessitating a quick settlement of all global litigation and royalty issues. Otherwise, QCT will refuse to sell them new silicon next year, and Apple's luxury products will be forced to go to MediaTek, jeopardizing their entire franchise.