However the offered price of 182p per share has hardly moved the Imagination share price which was 123p before the bid and is 129p now, suggesting that the bid may fail because of regulatory issues.

At 182p, Imagination is being valued at £550 million. Imagination’s current market cap is £370 million.

Canyon Bridge has recently had its first attempted acquisition – Lattice Semiconductor – rejected by President Donald Trump.

In a move to try to avoid US regulatory attention, Imagination will sell its MIPS business to a VC-backed company called Tallwood MIPS for $65 million.

In a statement designed to fend off UK regulatory attention Canyon Bridge says it has ‘no plans to make any changes to the continuing employment of employees and management, nor does intend to change the principal locations of Imagination’s places of business, or redeploy any fixed assets of Imagination.’

“We are investing in UK talent and expertise in order to accelerate the expansion of Imagination, particularly into Asia,” says Ray Bingham, co-founder and partner at Canyon Bridge who has recently resigned from the boards of Oracle, Flex and Cypress Semiconductor because of the Canyon Bridge connection.