Qualcomm Confirms Acquisition of UK Tech Firm Alphawave for $2.4 Billion

Qualcomm has confirmed that it will acquire UK chip manufacturer Alphawave IP Group for $2.4 billion, Reuters reported. Qualcomm’s Alphawave acquisition is part of its strategy to boost its capabilities in AI technology.

The $2.4 billion valuation is 50% of the total value attributed to Alphawave when it unveiled its initial public offering in 2021. At the market debut, the UK tech firm had a market valuation of £3.1 billion, with its stocks priced at 410 pence per share.

A Strategic Move

Qualcomm announced its resumption to the data center CPU market last month. The giant chip manufacturer considers its acquisition of Alphawave is strategic considering that the UK firm designs chip technology for networking, data centers, and storage.

“Alphawave has developed leading high-speed wired connectivity and compute technologies that are complementary to our power-efficient central processing unit (CPU) and neural processing unit (NPU) cores,” Qualcomm President and CEO Cristiano Amon said.

Amon added that teams from the two companies will work together to build next-level computing.

“The combined teams share the goal of building advanced technology solutions and enabling next-level connected computing performance across a wide array of high growth areas, including data center infrastructure,” he added.

Alphawave also considers the takeover a major milestone and committed to advise its shareholders to support it.

“Qualcomm’s acquisition of Alphawave Semi represents a significant milestone for us and an opportunity for our business to join forces with a respected industry leader and drive value to our customers. By combining our resources and expertise, we will be well-positioned to expand our product offerings, reach a broader customer base, and enhance our technological capabilities,” Alphawave Semi CEO Tony Pialis said.

Investment Concerns

The latest update on Alphawave’s acquisition raises concerns regarding the competitiveness of the London Stock Exchange. The takeover is happening at a time when the UK market has been plagued by stunted growth and low valuations. In recent months, markets in the US have been attracting UK firms seeking to raise capital through initial public offers.

This situation is increasingly making British companies prone to overseas acquisition. Alphawave becomes the latest UK tech firm to be taken over by a foreign company. The Alphawave chip deal highlights the growing appeal of firms listed on the London Stock Exchange to American buyers.
IonQ, another US quantum computing company has agreed to acquire UK startup, Oxford Ionics for $1.1 billion. Other UK firms that have agreed to be acquired by US companies are food-delivery service Deliveroo and AI and cybersecurity startup Darktrace. Last week, fintech firm Wise announced that it will be shifting its primary listing to the US.

Following the semiconductor company buyout, Aphawave shareholders will be paid 183 pence for each share held. This represents a 96% premium on the stock’s price as at March 31, which is the last day of trading before Qualcomm expressed interest in the acquisition.

Market Response

Alphawave shares soared 23% on June 9 after it agreed to the takeover by the US rival. Analysts from Jeffries said they don’t expect the deal to face regulatory obstacles following Alphawave’s exit from Chinese joint venture, WiseWave on June 9. Qualcomm is expected to close the deal in the first quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory and shareholder approval.

On June 9, the US chip maker made alternative share offers to Alphawave following the deadline extensions granted by the UK takeover panel. The UK firm considers the cash offer as reasonable and fair, it plans to recommend it to shareholders.
In April, Alphawave had attracted acquisition interest from Arm, a SoftBank-owned chip designer for its high-speed ‘serdes’ technology. The technology is vital for accelerating chip data processing and is considered essential in advancing AI. Serdes technology forms the backbone of multibillion-dollar custom chip operations in companies such as Broadcom and Marvell Technology.