IonQ looks poised for M&A if/when opportunity arises
Could IonQ be on the verge of making an acquisition? A company spokesperson recently told IQT News via email that IonQ “is unable to go into details on current M&A exploration,” but the firm did take the interesting step earlier this month to file for a $500 million mixed shelf offering that could allow it to sell securities to help fund an acquisition.
IonQ CFO Thomas Kramer referenced the offering on this month’s third-quarter earnings call, saying the company is trying to “maintain optionality” to make a deal if it finds the right opportunity. “While we continue to believe that our cash on hand is more than sufficient to get the company to cash flow positive, and we have no immediate plans to raise additional capital, we also believe that opportunities for strategic M&A may arise in the near to medium term,” he said.
Regarding IonQ’s cash on hand, the company said in its recent earnings report that it had cash, cash equivalents and investments were $485.1 million as of September 30, 2023
IonQ is not a stranger to M&A, having acquired quantum networking firm Entangled Networks at the beginning of this year. Notably, IonQ has started to record sales of full quantum computing systems, and while it is known for hardware, it has started to expand its efforts in software and quantum networks, as well investigating new ways to create smaller footprint systems, and could look to M&A as a way to accelerate its plans in any of these areas.
Dan O’Shea has covered telecommunications and related topics including semiconductors, sensors, retail systems, digital payments and quantum computing/technology for over 25 years.
