U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm 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 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 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 and Marvell Technology's multibillion-dollar bespoke chip businesses.

Arm walked away after initial discussions with Alphawave, Reuters exclusively reported in April citing sources.

Qualcomm 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. - Reuters