UK chip maker Imagination bought for 550m by China-backed tech firm

Shares in Imagination Technologies have jumped more than 40% following your UK chipmaker announced a takeover using a China-backed private equity finance firm that is blocked by Mr . trump from purchasing a US rival over national security concerns.

Imagination has wanted to a 182p-a-share takeover by Canyon Bridge, that is certainly within Palo Alto in California and backed by state-owned Chinese fund Yitai Capital. The offer values the Hertfordshire-based company at 550m; at its peak this year, Imagination has a stock exchange worth of nearly 2bn.

Shares in Imagination surged to 172p at the beginning of trading on Monday, but remained below the offer price.

A fortnight ago, Trump blocked Canyon Bridge’s $1.3bn endeavor to find the US chipmaker Lattice Semiconductor. Canyon Bridge began with capital through the Chinese government and has now indirect links to Beijing’s space programme. It manages about $1.5bn on the part of Yitai Capital.

Imagination, which designs the graphics processors applied to smartphones and various technology, put itself for sale in June after Apple, its biggest customer and the other of their main shareholders, stated it would stop with their graphics technology in the iPhone and also other brand new products by 2019.

Just over one half of Imagination’s 1,200 workforce are located in the UK, with the remainder operating in Europe, united states, China and India. Its secret headquarters and main research and development centre happen to be in Kings Langley near London. The organization is given by Andrew Heath, an ancient Rolls-Royce executive.

Imagination claimed it had spoken with various potential purchasers, adding there may be another takeover offer from an second unnamed bidder.

The deal agreed with Canyon Bridge excludes Imagination’s US unit MIPS, which happens to be house for sale to Tallwood Growth capital, a Palo Alto-based investment group, for $65m. Canyon Bridge’s deal is conditional on the conclusion in the MIPS sale.

Selling MIPS will avoid subjecting Canyon Bridge’s takeover of Imagination towards a review by way of the committee on foreign purchase of united states C the costa rica government panel that blocked the Lattice deal.

Imagination could be the latest UK tech firm to be removed for an overseas company, after ARM Holdings, Britain’s biggest technology firm, was acquired by Japan’s SoftBank for 24bn in 2009.

Canyon Bridge has pledged to get Imagination’s UK research and development. Both companies said there had been no offers cut staff.