*

Cash offer of 183 pence per Alphawave share

*

Offer at a 96% premium to AWE's shares at March 31 close

*

Qualcomm ( QCOM ) also tabled alternative share offers

(Adds background in paragraphs 3-5, details throughout)

June 9 (Reuters) - U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm ( QCOM ) on

Monday agreed to acquire British semiconductor company Alphawave

for about $2.4 billion as part of efforts to strengthen

its artificial intelligence technology.

Alphawave shareholders will receive 183 pence per share, a

nearly 96% premium to the price immediately before Qualcomm ( QCOM )

disclosed its interest in the company. The shares jumped 22% in

early London trade to just below the offer price.

U.S.-based firms have been snapping up British assets,

taking advantage of a market that is plagued by comparatively

weaker valuations and stunted growth.

Alphawave, which designs and licenses semiconductor

technology for data centers, networking and storage, had

garnered takeover interest from Qualcomm ( QCOM ) and SoftBank-owned chip

tech provider Arm in early April for its 'serdes'

technology.

The technology underpins the speed at which data is

processed by chips - crucial for AI development - and serves as

the foundation for Broadcom's ( AVGO ) and Marvell Technology's ( MRVL )

multibillion-dollar bespoke chip businesses.

Arm walked away after initial discussions with Alphawave,

Reuters exclusively reported in April citing sources.

Qualcomm ( QCOM ) also tabled two alternative all-share offers to

Alphawave's shareholders, after receiving multiple extensions

from the UK's takeover panel to table a firm offer.

The British company said it considers the terms of the cash

offer to be fair and reasonable and intends to unanimously

recommend it to its shareholders.

Alphawave also completed the disposal of its stake in

WiseWave, its joint venture with Chinese investment firm Wise

Road Capital, to existing state shareholders on Monday.