Business · Companies · 4 hrs ago
OMERS sells Xanadu shares to recover its original investment
OMERS Ventures sold part of its stake in Xanadu, a Toronto-based quantum computing company.
It received at least US$16.6 million for shares sold in September, after raising at least US$4.9 million from a separate sale in July; together, the sales recouped its original investment.
OMERS still holds 38 per cent of Xanadu’s class B shares through three funds, making it one of the company’s largest investors.
Xanadu went public in March, and most shareholders were barred from selling until a lockup period ended in September.
Its shares first surged, then fell by more than half after the lockup lifted, showing how sharply the stock’s value has moved.
Xanadu is competing to build a commercially useful quantum computer, a technology that could eventually outperform today’s most powerful supercomputers and help in areas such as finance and drug discovery.
OMERS says it wants to keep exposure to quantum computing, but it has not said what it plans to do with its remaining Xanadu shares.
OMERS Ventures sold Xanadu shares to recover its original investment while remaining one of the company’s largest investors.
It sold 3.13 million class B shares on Sept. 22 and 23, receiving at least US$16.6-million in gross proceeds.
OMERS also sold 500,000 shares in July, generating at least US$4.9-million.
After the sales, OMERS controlled 36.6 million class B shares, equal to 38 per cent of that class.
OMERS said it wanted to take its invested capital off the table but still wanted exposure to quantum computing.
- Who
- OMERS Ventures, the venture capital arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System, sold shares in Xanadu Quantum Technologies Ltd.
- What
- It sold shares to recover its original investment and remained one of Xanadu’s largest investors.
- When
- It sold 500,000 shares in July and 3.13 million shares on Sept. 22 and 23. The year is not stated for those sales.
- Where
- Xanadu is based in Toronto.
- Why
- OMERS said it wanted to take its invested capital off the table while keeping exposure to quantum computing.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Xanadu went public by merging with a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company.
OMERS sold 500,000 Xanadu class B shares.
OMERS sold 3.13 million class B shares after a lockup lifted for holders of most of Xanadu’s stock.
OMERS disclosed the September sales in a regulatory filing, according to the article published on Oct. 27.
- September sale
- 3.13 million class B shares
- September sale proceeds
- At least US$16.6-million gross
- July sale
- 500,000 class B shares
- July sale proceeds
- At least US$4.9-million
- OMERS remaining stake
- 36.6 million class B shares, or 38 per cent of that class
What people are saying
It was a strategy: We thought it was important to take our invested capital off the table and that’s what we did
We believe quantum will be a reality in 2030 and we’d like to have exposure to it.