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US semiconductor group Qualcomm has agreed to a $2.4 billion deal to buy chip designer Alphawave, indicating the starting point for the latest tech company from the London market.
The company’s board of directors said Qualcomm’s cash offer is priced at 183p per Alphawave shares, representing a 96% premium from its closing price on March 31, the last trading day before Qualcomm announced its bid. They said the deal valued Alphawave at $2.4 billion, less than half of the valuation published more than four years ago.
Alphawave shares jumped 182 points, up 22% in early trading on Monday.
The deal will promote Qualcomm’s ambitions on artificial intelligence by expanding its intellectual property portfolio in data centers and 5G networking when the leading tech companies spend hundreds of millions of dollars on AI infrastructure.
Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said the two companies “share our goal of building advanced technology solutions and enabling the next level of connected computing performance in a wide range of high-growth areas, including data center infrastructure.”
Alphawave said its directors would unanimously recommend that shareholders vote in favour of the transaction. Chief Executive Tony Pieris said the UK company is “suitably positioned to expand its product offerings, reach a wider customer base and strengthen its technical capabilities.”
The transaction is expected to close in the first calendar quarter of 2026. Alphawave shareholders may choose to accept the offer in cash or Qualcomm shares.
Alphawave, which licenses chip designs for high speed connections, was founded in Canada and was listed in London in 2021, and in the same year as Food Delivery Group Deliveroo and cybersecurity company Darktrace.
When it was released in May 2021, Toronto-based Alphawave sold £856 million worth of stake at 410p, valued the group at £3.1 billion. Qualcomm’s offer is 183 points per share, which is less than half.
By the time Qualcomm completes the acquisition, all three could be discontinued after Deliveroo agreed to sell to US rival Doordash this year, and Darktrace was acquired by private equity group Thoma Bravo for $5.3 billion last year.
Alpha Wave, which had a major short-circuited before Qualcomm’s profits were revealed, warned in April that it could not provide guidance this year due to uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s tariffs, “the timing of the customer program is currently uncertain.” Not only in data centers, but the technology is used in 5G infrastructure and autonomous vehicles.
Qualcomm, which generates a large portion of its revenue from mobile chips and associated loyalties, reported strong growth in April of the first quarter of the year, saying it does not expect a major impact from tariffs. In March, the company was hit when Apple launched its first iPhone, including its own in-house modem, replacing the part that Qualcomm had historically supplied.
