£32m legal fees put Qualcomm-Alphawave deal among City's most lucrative

Legal fees on Qualcomm's $2.4 billion takeover of UK-listed chipmaker Alphawave are set to reach £32 million - putting the deal among the most lucrative for City law firms in recent years.

According to figures first reported by The Lawyer and disclosed in the scheme document for the takeover, Qualcomm’s legal fees are expected to hit $25 million (around £18 million), while Alphawave’s are expected to total £14 million.

Paul Weiss is leading for Qualcomm and can be expected to bank the lion's share of the US chipmaker’s fees, while Linklaters, acting for Alphawave, is also in line for a major payday.

The sums rank among the highest seen on a City M&A deal in recent years. Last year’s private equity-backed buyout of Hargreaves Lansdown saw legal fees hit £24 million - a figure Law.com reported was among the biggest seen on a single UK deal according to industry sources, with Kirkland & Ellis and Freshfields leading.

Meanwhile, American Axle & Manufacturing's pending takeover of FTSE-listed car parts maker Dowlais is earmarking £36 million for legal fees, with A&O Shearman and Slaughter and May acting as lead counsel.

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The Alphawave deal, announced in June, will see Qualcomm take full control of the British chip design firm as part of its push into data centre infrastructure. The acquisition is being structured as a scheme of arrangement and is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2026.