Intel Told to Pay VLSI $2.18B After Losing Texas Patent Trial (bloomberg.com)

It looks like a 'patent troll' at first glance, and that seems to have been argued by Intel to the jury, but VLSI may actually be more like a special purpose litigation vehicle for NXP (a very legitimate semiconductor company) using some IP that they acquired from freescale (also a very legitimate semiconductor company). Does anyone have more information or insight into the genesis of this litigation and the players involved? VLSI, for what it's worth, is being represented by Morgan Chu, who is one of the most preeminent patent lawyers in history.