Britain's IQE raises $17.5 million in discounted share sale with MACOM backing

Iqe

28/04/2026 08:57

April 28 (Reuters) - Britain's IQE IQE.L raised 13 million pounds ($17.56 million) in a heavily-discounted share sale, the firm said on Tuesday, as part of a broader 81 million pound fundraising plan backed by U.S. chipmaker MACOM MTSI.O.

IQE, which supplies the wafer products used in the iPhone's facial recognition sensor, saw its shares plunge more than 23% on the day.

The company sold 55.6 million placing shares and 10.1 million retail offer shares at 19.8 pence per share, a 60% discount to IQE's close on Monday.

Here are some more details:

The total fundraising plan includes a 30 million pound equity investment and 15 million pounds in convertible loan notes from MACOM, an existing customer of IQE, plus the reinvestment of 23 million pounds from existing convertible noteholders.

IQE said on Monday it has entered into long-term strategic supply agreements with the U.S. chipmaker, and MACOM will be entitled to appoint two non-executive directors to IQE's board following completion of the investment.

Following the investment, IQE concluded its strategic review and it is no longer considered to be in an offer period under UK takeover rules.

The fundraising remains conditional on shareholder approval at a general meeting scheduled for May 15, 2026 and on MACOM receiving certain regulatory clearances, which if not approved, will force IQE to seek alternative funding to meet its short-term liquidity needs.

MACOM will hold 11.5% of total voting rights if the fundraising plan goes through.

($1 = 0.7405 pounds)

 (Reporting by Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Ronojoy Mazumdar)

 ((Yamini.Kalia@thomsonreuters.com))