Alphawave IP Group PLC (LSE:AWE), one of London's few listed microchip companies, has agreed to a US$2.4 billion (£1.8bn) recommended acquisition by US giant Qualcomm Inc (NASDAQ:QCOM, ETR:QCI).
Shareholders should get roughly 183p per share, a 96% premium to the last closing price before the announcement.
The UK-Canadian company's board has unanimously recommended the offer.
Under the exact terms of the agreement, shareholders will receive either US$2.48 in cash per share, or can elect to take shares in Qualcomm; either 0.01662 new Qualcomm shares or a combination of new 'series A' and 'series B' Qualcomm unlisted exchangeable securities.
Shareholders holding just over 50% of the company’s shares, including directors holding 24.1%, have given irrevocable undertakings to back the deal, with Alphawave CEO Tony Pialis and two other key shareholders having committed to taking the exchangeable securities option.
In a separate statement, Alphawave confirmed it had completed the sale of its entire interest in Chinese JV, WiseWave, at the end of last week. The disposal, previously flagged in its 2024 interim results, transfers ownership to existing shareholders.
Qualcomm first confirmed that it was considering making an offer in early April.
Shares in Alphawave jumped almost 19% to 177.4p.
While the dead requires regulatory approvals including the US, Germany, South Korea and Canada, and FDI approval from the UK, analysts at Jefferies say they "do not expect any material regulatory obstacles".
This is "especially so" following the disposal of the stake in WiseWave.
The analysts said they expect the deal will conclude at the bid price, in the Q1 2026 timescale specified.