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Alphawave to be Acquired by Qualcomm in £1.8bn Deal

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

UK-based semiconductor company Alphawave is set to be acquired by US-based tech giant Qualcomm in a £1.8 billion deal, marking the latest loss for the London Stock Exchange as it struggles to retain large technology companies. Alphawave, which designs and licenses high-speed connectivity technology, has agreed to a takeover offer worth 183p per share, with the deal expected to complete during the first three months of 2026. The acquisition comes as part of a larger trend of UK-based tech companies listing in London but eventually being acquired or switching their listing to the US.

Key Takeaways:

  • Alphawave, a UK-based semiconductor company, has agreed to a £1.8 billion takeover by US-based tech giant Qualcomm.
  • The deal, worth 183p per share, is expected to complete during the first three months of 2026.
  • Alphawave designs and licenses high-speed connectivity technology, key to growth in datacentre and AI applications.
  • This marks the latest loss for the London Stock Exchange as it struggles to retain large technology companies.
  • Other UK-based tech companies, such as Wise and Deliveroo, have also switched their primary listing to the US in recent years.
  • Alphawave listed in 2021 at 410p per share but has mostly traded below this level since its IPO.
  • The acquisition offers Alphawave shareholders the option to exchange their stock for 0.01662 of a new share in Qualcomm.

Statistics:

  • £1.8 billion: The value of the takeover deal.
  • 183p: The price per share offered by Qualcomm.
  • 2021: The year Alphawave listed on the London Stock Exchange.
  • 410p: The price per share at which Alphawave listed in 2021.
  • 0.01662: The proportion of a new Qualcomm share that Alphawave shareholders can exchange their stock for.

Sources:

  • British chip designer Alphawave has agreed to a $2.4bn takeover by its US rival Qualcomm.
  • UK banks to experiment with Nvidia AI in 'supercharged sandbox' scheme
  • Wise to move main share listing to US as Alphawave is acquired by Qualcomm
  • Deliveroo, the food delivery app, agreed to a £2.9bn takeover by its US rival DoorDash in May.
  • Darktrace, the Cambridge-based cybersecurity and artificial intelligence company, agreed to a $5.3bn takeover by the US private equity business Thoma Bravo last year.

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