SEC Form 425 filed by IonQ Inc.

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): April 24, 2026

IonQ, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: 301-298-7997

Not Applicable

(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

As previously disclosed, on January 25, 2026, IonQ, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“IonQ”), entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) with SkyWater Technology, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“SkyWater”), Iris Merger Subsidiary 1 Inc., a Delaware corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of IonQ (“Merger Sub 1”), and Iris Merger Subsidiary 2 LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and a wholly owned subsidiary of IonQ (“Merger Sub 2” and, together with Merger Sub 1, the “Merger Subs”). Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, (i) Merger Sub 1 will merge with and into SkyWater, with SkyWater surviving as a wholly owned subsidiary of IonQ (the “First Merger”) and (ii) immediately following the effective time of the First Merger (the “Effective Time”), SkyWater, as the surviving entity of the First Merger, will merge with and into Merger Sub 2, which will survive the merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of IonQ (together with the First Merger, the “Mergers”).

Consummation of the Mergers is subject to certain conditions, including the expiration or termination of the waiting period (and any extension thereof) applicable to the consummation of the Mergers under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (the “HSR Act”), and any agreement with a governmental authority not to consummate the Mergers.

On April 24, 2026, IonQ and SkyWater each received a request for additional information (the “Second Request”) from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) in connection with the FTC’s review of the Mergers. The issuance of the Second Request extends the waiting period under the HSR Act until 30 days after both IonQ and SkyWater have substantially complied with the Second Request, unless the waiting period is extended voluntarily by the parties or terminated earlier by the FTC.

IonQ and SkyWater expect to promptly respond to the Second Request and to continue to work cooperatively with the FTC in its review of the Mergers. The Mergers are still expected to be completed in the second or third quarter of 2026, subject to the expiration or termination of the waiting period under the HSR Act and the satisfaction (or waiver) of other customary closing conditions.

Important Information and Where to Find It

In connection with the acquisition described herein (the “Transaction”), IonQ has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) a Registration Statement on Form S-4 (the “Registration Statement”) which includes a prospectus with respect to the shares of IonQ common stock (the “IonQ Shares”) to be issued in the Transaction and a proxy statement (the “Proxy Statement/Prospectus”) for stockholders of SkyWater and SkyWater has filed with the SEC the proxy statement (the “Proxy Statement”). The definitive proxy statement has been mailed to stockholders of SkyWater. Each of IonQ and SkyWater may also file with or furnish to the SEC other relevant documents regarding the Transaction. This communication is not a substitute for the Registration Statement, the Proxy Statement/Prospectus or any other document that IonQ or SkyWater may file with the SEC or mail to SkyWater’s stockholders in connection with the Transaction.

INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS OF IONQ AND SKYWATER ARE URGED TO READ THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT, THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS INCLUDED WITHIN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT, THE PROXY STATEMENT AS WELL AS ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC IN CONNECTION WITH THE TRANSACTION OR INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE INTO THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT, THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS AND THE PROXY STATEMENT (INCLUDING ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS THERETO), BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING IONQ, SKYWATER, THE TRANSACTION AND RELATED MATTERS.

The documents filed by IonQ with the SEC also may be obtained free of charge at IonQ’s website at investors.IonQ.com. The documents filed by SkyWater with the SEC also may be obtained free of charge at SkyWater’s website at ir.skywatertechnology.com. 

Participants in the Solicitation

IonQ, SkyWater and certain of their respective directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the stockholders of SkyWater in connection with the Transaction under the rules of the SEC. Information about the interests of the directors and executive officers of IonQ and SkyWater and other persons who may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of stockholders of SkyWater in connection with the Transaction and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, is included in the Proxy Statement/Prospectus, which was filed with the SEC on March 31, 2026. Information about SkyWater’s directors and executive officers is set forth in SkyWater’s proxy statement for its 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders on Schedule 14A filed with the SEC on April 8, 2025, SkyWater’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 29, 2025 and any subsequent filings with the SEC. Information about certain of IonQ’s directors and executive officers is set forth in IonQ’s proxy statement for its 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders on Schedule 14A filed with the SEC on April 28, 2025 and any subsequent filings with the SEC. Additional information regarding the direct and indirect interests of those persons and other persons who may be deemed participants in the Transaction may be obtained by reading the Proxy Statement/Prospectus regarding the Transaction. Free copies of these documents may be obtained as described above.

No Offer or Solicitation

This communication is for informational purposes only and does not constitute, or form a part of, an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and otherwise in accordance with applicable law.

Note to Investors Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This document contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements contained in this document other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on IonQ’s and SkyWater’s current expectations, estimates and projections about the expected date of closing of the Transaction and the potential benefits thereof, their respective businesses and industries, management’s beliefs and certain assumptions made by IonQ and SkyWater, all of which are subject to change. All forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control and are not guarantees of future results, such as statements about the consummation of the Transaction and the anticipated benefits thereof. These and other forward-looking statements, including the failure to consummate the Transaction or to make or take any filing or other action required to consummate the transactions in a timely matter or at all, are not guarantees of future results and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Accordingly, there are or will be important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in such statements and, therefore, you should not place undue reliance on any such statements and caution must be exercised in relying on forward-looking statements. Important risk factors that may cause such a difference include, but are not limited to: (i) the completion of the Transaction on anticipated terms and timing, including obtaining stockholder and regulatory approvals, anticipated tax treatment, unforeseen liabilities, future capital expenditures, revenues, expenses, earnings, synergies, economic performance, indebtedness, financial condition, losses, future prospects, business and management strategies, expansion and growth of SkyWater’s and IonQ’s businesses and other conditions to the completion of the Transaction; (ii) failure to realize the anticipated benefits of the Transaction, including as a result of delay in completing the transactions or integrating the businesses of IonQ and SkyWater; (iii) IonQ’s and SkyWater’s ability to implement their business strategies; (iv) potential litigation relating to the Transaction that could be instituted against IonQ, SkyWater or their respective directors; (v) the risk that disruptions from the Transaction will harm IonQ’s or SkyWater’s businesses, including current plans and operations; (vi) the ability of IonQ or SkyWater to retain and hire key personnel; (vii) potential adverse reactions or changes to business relationships resulting from the announcement, pendency or completion of the Transaction; (viii) uncertainty as to the long-term value of IonQ Shares; (ix) legislative, regulatory and economic developments affecting IonQ’s and SkyWater’s businesses; (x) general economic and market developments and conditions; (xi) the evolving legal, regulatory and tax regimes under which IonQ and SkyWater operate; (xii) potential business uncertainty, including changes to existing business relationships, during the pendency of the Transaction that could affect IonQ’s or SkyWater’s financial performance; (xiii) restrictions during the pendency of the Transaction that may impact IonQ’s or SkyWater’s ability to pursue certain business opportunities or strategic transactions; (xiv) unpredictability and severity of catastrophic events, including, but not limited to, acts of terrorism or outbreak of war or hostilities, as well as IonQ’s and SkyWater’s response to any of the aforementioned factors; and (xv) failure to receive the SkyWater Stockholder Approval. These risks, as well as other risks associated with the Transaction, are more fully discussed in the Proxy Statement/Prospectus. While the list of factors presented here is, and the list of factors presented in the Proxy Statement/Prospectus is, considered representative, no such list should be considered to be a complete statement of all potential risks and uncertainties. Unlisted factors may present significant additional obstacles to the realization of forward-looking statements. Consequences of material differences in results as compared with those anticipated in the forward-looking statements could include, among other things, business disruption, operational problems, financial loss, legal liability to third parties and similar risks, any of which could have a material adverse effect on IonQ’s or SkyWater’s consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. Neither IonQ nor SkyWater assumes any obligation to publicly provide revisions or updates to any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, should circumstances change, except as otherwise required by securities and other applicable laws.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.