Qualcomm considers buying UK semiconductor firm Alphawave

(Reuters) -U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm is considering making an offer to acquire Alphawave IP Group, it said on Tuesday, sending shares of the British semiconductor company surging more than 52%.

Alphawave designs and licenses semiconductor technology for data centers, networking, and storage.

Its 'serdes' technology determines how fast information can be processed by chips - crucial for AI development - and serves as the foundation for Broadcom and Marvell Technology's multibillion-dollar bespoke chip businesses.

Alphawave's shares soared by more than half to a high of 142.9 pence, valuing it at 708.2 million pounds ($913.1 million), according to LSEG data. As of Monday's close, the stock had slumped more than 70% from its all-time peak in August 2021.

Qualcomm did not respond to a Reuters request for further details of a potential deal, while Alphawave did not comment.

Under UK takeover rules, the U.S. company now has until April 29 to make a firm offer or walk away.

Qualcomm's expression of interest came after Reuters exclusively reported earlier in the day that SoftBank-owned chip tech provider Arm had recently sought to buy Alphawave before deciding against a takeover.

Arm was looking to secure crucial technology for building its own artificial-intelligence processors, Reuters reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. Arm and Alphawave both declined to comment.

Media reports last year said Qualcomm had also discussed a potential deal to buy some or all of U.S. rival Intel.

($1 = 0.7756 pounds)

(Reporting by Yamini Kalia and Anandita Mehrotra in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Jan Harvey)