April 26, 2026, 15:06 EDT, College Park, Maryland.
IonQ Inc.’s bid to buy SkyWater Technology Inc. has hit another antitrust snag, as the Federal Trade Commission demanded more details from both sides, stretching out the review window, according to a securities filing. The FTC’s request, dated April 24, relates to the proposed deal that would fold SkyWater into IonQ.
The timing is key here: SkyWater sits at the heart of IonQ’s effort to take direct charge of its quantum hardware. Back in January, IonQ struck a deal to acquire the chipmaker for roughly $1.8 billion. The company argued the move would pull semiconductor manufacturing in-house and bolster its relationships with federal and defense clients.
A “Second Request” signals the FTC wants additional documents and data ahead of closing a deal. This move doesn’t outright block the transaction, but it does pause the merger timeline until the companies substantially comply, triggering another round of review. Federal Trade Commission
IonQ and SkyWater plan to reply swiftly and continue cooperating with the FTC. Both companies are still aiming to close the deal in either the second or third quarter of 2026, pending approval under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act—the U.S. pre-merger law—and other required conditions.
SkyWater shareholders are set to get $15 in cash plus $20 in IonQ stock per share, according to terms rolled out back in January. Post-acquisition, SkyWater becomes a wholly owned division of IonQ, with CEO Thomas Sonderman answering directly to IonQ Chairman and CEO Niccolo de Masi.
De Masi said buying SkyWater would let IonQ “secure its fully scalable supply chain domestically.” Sonderman pointed to the deal’s potential to “accelerate multiple engineering pathways” for next-generation quantum chips. SkyWater Technology
There’s a risk here: if the review drags on, the economics of the deal could shift. IonQ and SkyWater laid that out in their proxy, cautioning that regulatory pushback—anything from imposed conditions to outright delays or a failed sign-off—might stall or even kill the transaction before it closes.
IonQ ended Friday at $42.69, sliding 2.19% from its prior finish. Roughly 20.7 million shares changed hands during the session. The company’s most recent market cap checked in at $12.57 billion.
The FTC delay drops as investors juggle a flurry of quantum names. This week, Northland Capital Markets’ Nehal Chokshi started coverage on IonQ with an Outperform and set a $55 price target. D-Wave Quantum and Rigetti Computing, though, only picked up Market Perform calls. Xanadu Quantum Technologies landed an Outperform rating as well.
The industry isn’t there yet on quantum advantage — that moment when quantum hardware outpaces traditional computers in practical tasks is still on the horizon. Chokshi called photonic, or light-driven, systems “best positioned” thanks to their interconnects, highlighting how the market is still testing out different approaches and hasn’t landed on a clear leader. Investing.com
IonQ’s filing stops short of mentioning any lawsuit or formal remedy request from the FTC. Instead, what stands out is how the process shifts from IonQ’s own public roadmap to following the regulator’s schedule.
The SkyWater deal still makes sense strategically, but IonQ no longer fully controls how or when it gets done—the timeline has turned sluggish, and that’s now the main overhang.
Related articles: NASDAQ:IONQ
