The deal was worth about $2.4 billion on a popular market. The company's shares had been rising for months

Qualcomm Incorporated was founded 40 years ago. The company currently has 170 offices in 30 countries around the world, and its portfolio includes products for processors, modems, platforms, RF systems and connectivity . A much shorter history, started in 2017, has Alphawave - a company specializing in semiconductors, as well as high-speed communication technologies (its products are used in data centers, artificial intelligence and data networks).

The two companies could soon join forces. Qualcomm Incorporated announced last Friday (June 6) that it has reached an agreement with Alphawave IP Group plc to be acquired by its subsidiary, Aqua Acquisition Sub LLC.

"The acquisition of Alphawave Semi is intended to further accelerate Qualcomm's expansion in data centers and provide key assets to it," the release said.

Business is driven by orders from North American AI customers

Qualcomm Incorporated is to pay about $2.4 billion in cash to acquire the new company, which is about 183 pence for each Alphawave share (the company's shares have already risen about 117% since the beginning of the year). As Bloomberg points out, this represents a 96% premium to the company's share price on March 31 , just before the talks between the two companies were revealed.

The transaction, subject to regulatory and shareholder approval, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026.

Bloomberg notes that Alphawave has struggled with its dependence on large customers, and has also been affected by geopolitical tensions between the US and China (in the latter, it decided to scale back its operations last year). Despite this, it saw an increase in orders in the fourth quarter of last year due to the growing popularity of its technology. CEO Tony Pialis, quoted by the agency, said in a statement that the business is being driven by orders from North American AI customers . For Qualcomm Incorporated, the expansion of its operations is a chance to reduce its dependence on the declining smartphone market.