Alphawave, Holders Seek $1.1 Billion in London Tech Listing
Alphawave, Holders Seek $1.1 Billion in London Semiconductor IPO
(Bloomberg) --
Alphawave IP and its holders are looking to raise as much as 810 million pounds ($1.1 billion) in a listing on the London Stock Exchange, adding a rare semiconductor stock to the U.K. market and boosting the City’s attempts to establish itself as a technology hub.
The Canadian company is looking to raise 360 million pounds by selling as many as 96 million shares in an initial public offering, while shareholders plan to offload a stake worth as much as 450 million pounds, according to terms seen by Bloomberg.
The company plans to market shares in the IPO at 375 pence to 430 pence through May 13, with the new stock set to start trading a day later, the terms showed.
The IPO, which will value the company at as much as 3.2 billion pounds, comes as London attempts to position itself as a global financial center for tech listings. Cybersecurity firm Darktrace Plc listed last week at a lower-than-expected valaution after online food-delivery platform Deliveroo Holdings Plc flopped in its market debut in March.
Keen to bolster its standing in a post-Brexit world, the U.K. is making serious attempts to lure more tech founders to London and is set to rewrite its listing rules. New York remains the venue of choice for most unicorn IPOs, however, thanks to the U.S. roster of Silicon Valley startups, its deep capital pool and a host of tech behemoths like Alphabet Inc. and Google Inc.
Founded in Toronto in 2017, Alphawave makes technology to improve semiconductor power efficiency and speed. The company plans to use the proceeds to expand in Europe, the U.K. and Asia, invest in marketing and recruit talent, it said.
The deal will be the first semiconductor IPO in London since Kromek Group Plc’s float in 2013, while a number of other firms have left the market in the meantime. ARM Group, previously the U.K.’s flagship publicly traded semiconductor company, delisted in 2016 after a takeover from SoftBank Group Corp, while Imagination Technologies Group Plc also was acquired by a foreign investor.
BlackRock Inc. and Janus Henderson have agreed to take up $510 million of Alphawave’s offering. If there’s sufficient demand, underwriters may place additional shares, bringing the total deal size to as much as 931 million pounds, with up to 29% of the company listed.
Barclays Plc and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are joint global coordinators, while BMO Capital Markets is joint bookrunner.
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