Computer chip technology developer Alphawave IP (AWE) is on track to list shares on the London market with a valuation of up to £3.2 billion, according to reports.
The Toronto-based company designs high-speed data transmission technology and then licences it to semiconductor designers and manufacturers, a model pioneered by Cambridge-based ARM, the microchip architecture designer that was once the UK’s biggest listed tech company.
ARM was a hugely popular holding for thousands of UK investors thanks to its decades-long growth track record, but the company was sold to Japan’s Softbank for £32.3 billion in 2016. US chipmaker Nvidia is in the process of buying ARM but the deal is being probed by competition authorities.
Apple’s newer iPhones and MacBooks are powered by M1 chips that use ARM technology designs.
HUGE FUNDING INJECTION
Alphawave is believed to be looking to raise more than £800 million of growth funding from investors and has set a price range for its planned London listing of between 375p and 430p per share, according to JPMorgan, one of the brokers acting on its behalf.
Announcing its plans to float at the end of April, Alphawave said it is ‘growing rapidly’ and has a strong pipeline of customers comprising some of the world’s largest tech firms. Alphawave said it that it has been profitable since its first full year of operation and that from 2019 to 2020 revenues have increased by over 200% year-on-year.
