Hard to feel much sympathy
Intel had a track record through the 90s of pursuing completely meritless lawsuits against competitors in the knowledge that money spent on the defence couldn't be used on R&D or marketing - remember in the US each party generally pays their own costs. I recall one in particular about the colour of heatsinks thrown out when it was pointed out black is chosen on the basis of physics not branding. They may have continued since then but can't say I've heard of it. It seems Intel are trying to portray the situation as a patent troll but the howls of anguish ring hollow.
However in this case even that assertion doesn't ring true. Forget past histories or VLSI's current status - NXP are a practicing entity. Putting their patent portfolio in a separate shell doesn't strike me as a completely artificial construction.