dailynewsnblog
TORONTO — A Canadian pioneer in quantum computing made its debut on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Friday.
Within a few minutes of trading under the XNDU ticker, Xanadu Quantum Technologies shares were hovering around $14.
Toronto-based Xanadu is known for developing a light-based approach to scale quantum computers at room temperature.
Quantum computing is an emerging science that uses advanced physics to solve problems better and faster than conventional computers. Xanadu has said the technology can aid in the discovery of new drugs and the creation of more powerful batteries.
Xanadu’s market debut was facilitated by a merger with Nasdaq-listed special purpose acquisition company Crane Harbor Acquisition Corp., which was valued at US$3.1 billion. (Crane has bounced between about $8 and roughly $13 since May 19 on the Nasdaq. On Friday, its Nasdaq ticker switched to XNDU.)
The process is called a deSPAC, when a private firm becomes publicly traded after merging with a special purpose acquisition company, in this case Crane Harbor Acquisition Corp.
SPACs are shell companies that raise money under the assumption that they will later merge with another firm and turn the new company public in an alternative to an initial public offering.
SPACs are unpredictable because investors can redeem their shares before the merger to get initial funding back.
If a large number of shareholders opt for redemptions, it can dramatically reduce the cash the new combined company will have and may even put the firm at risk of failing to meet conditions it needs to complete the merger.
In the last few years, SPACs have become more popular but more recently, firms who used the model, including D-Wave Quantum Inc., have seen the downsides because of a high number of redemptions.
The US$302 million Xanadu is expected to make from the go-public process is lower than initial estimates because of redemptions, Antoine Legault, vice-president of equity research at investment management firm Wedbush Securities, pointed out.
The company first estimated US$500 million in gross proceeds, which included US$225 million from Crane Harbor’s trust account, assuming no redemptions by the SPAC’s public stockholders, as well as US$275 million from a group of investors.
But the SPAC is helping Xanadu go to market quickly, avoiding the long road show process, where businesses sell themselves to investors, he said. Legault estimated that road show process can take firms going public in a typical manner more than a year to complete and by the time it is done, market trends may have dramatically shifted.
