Paul Weiss and Linklaters guide $2.4bn deal for UK-listed chip designer

A trio of City firms are advising on Qualcomm's acquisition of UK-based chip designer Alphawave, one of the few semiconductor companies listed on the London Stock Exchange.

The acquisition values Alphawave at $2.4 billion, and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approval.

Alphawave, known for its leading role in high-speed wired connectivity, was founded in Canada in 2017 and listed on the LSE in 2021. The company licenses its IP to many of the world’s largest tech companies.

The company is poised to become the latest firm to depart from the LSE, and marks another blow to the struggling exchange after Cobalt Holdings opted to shelve its planned $230 million IPO in favour of seeking private funding last week.

The move is seen as a significant step for Qualcomm as it strengthens its IP portfolio and positions itself as a key player in the rapidly evolving data infrastructure market.

Advising

Paul Weiss is advising Qualcomm with a cross-jurisdictional team, including corporate partners Kyle Seifried, Dan Schuster-Woldan, Matthew Hearn and Scott Barshay.

Schuster-Woldan, who is head of European public M&A at Paul Weiss, was poached from Linklaters last year, while Hearn, who also joined Paul Weiss in 2024, is another former Linklaters partner.

The moves were part of a broader trend of Magic Circle M&A partners making the leap to Paul Weiss over the past 18 months, including fellow ex-Linklaters private equity partner Will Aitken-Davies.

Linklaters is advising Alphawave, led by corporate partners James Wootton, Richard Spedding and Rupert Cheyne. Links also acted on Alphawave’s £3.1 billion IPO in 2021 - the largest ever London IPO of a North American tech company.

Ashurst also acted on the deal, advising Evercore as financial advisor to Qualcomm.