SkyWater Technology

Quantum Computing · Semiconductors

Acquisition

IonQ wins FTC clearance to close $1.8B SkyWater deal Friday

A 1-1 vote split at the FTC left it unable to impose conditions, letting the merger proceed unconditionally.

• IonQ received final regulatory approval to complete its roughly $1.8 billion acquisition of SkyWater Technology after the FTC split 1-1 on a proposed settlement, with closing anticipated Friday, July 31, 2026.
• SkyWater is the largest exclusively U.S.-based semiconductor foundry and will keep serving commercial, aerospace, defense and government customers as a standalone subsidiary under its own name.
• The cash-and-stock deal, signed as a merger agreement on January 25, 2026, uses a two-step merger structure that leaves SkyWater a wholly owned subsidiary of IonQ.
• The FTC currently has only two Republican commissioners, Chair Andrew Ferguson and Mark Meador, leaving it unable to reach a majority to attach behavioral conditions to the deal.
• IonQ shares closed at $33.88 on July 28, down 5.7% that session and nearly 32% over the prior month, reflecting investor caution about integration costs and cash burn.
• The combined company plans a second-quarter earnings call on August 5, 2026 and an investor day on September 8, 2026 to detail integration plans.
• By folding a domestic chip foundry into its quantum stack, IonQ moves to control design-to-manufacturing for its processors rather than depending on external or foreign fabrication.