Ionq in talks to go public via merger with DMY SPAC

NEW YORK: Ionq is in advanced talks to merge with DMY Technology Group Inc III, according to people with knowledge of the matter, creating one of the first public quantum-computing companies.

The combined company is slated to be worth about Us$2bil and a deal is set to be announced in coming weeks, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private.

Silver Lake, MSD Partners, Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy and an affiliate of Hyundai Motor Co are in talks to participate in a so-called strategic private investment in public equity, or PIPE.

The special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) is discussing raising additional equity from institutional investors and new equity raised from strategic and institutional investors is set to total around Us$300mil, said one of the people. Existing Ionq investors are expected to roll their equity into the transaction, one of the people said.

As with any deal that hasn’t been finalised, it’s possible terms change or talks fall apart. Representatives for Ionq and DMY declined to comment. Spokesmen for Silver Lake and MSD Partners declined to comment and representatives of Hyundai and Breakthrough Energy Ventures didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

The SPAC, led by chairman Harry You and chief executive officer Niccolo De Masi, raised Us$300mil in November and said at the time it would pursue a target in consumer technology.