Nuclear reactor developer X $TWTR-energy priced its initial public offering at $23 per share, raising $1.02 billion in an upsized offering that came in above the marketed range of $16 to $19, the company said. A total of 44,254,659 shares of Class A common stock were sold.
The Rockville, Maryland-based company began trading on the Nasdaq $NDAQ Global Select Market on April 24 under the ticker symbol "XE." The offering is expected to close April 27, subject to customary closing conditions.
At the IPO price, X-energy has a market value of $9.1 billion based on outstanding shares listed in its filings, according to Bloomberg.
X-energy develops small modular reactors and manufactures fuel for advanced nuclear systems. The Xe-100 is cooled by helium rather than the water used in conventional reactor designs, according to Reuters. The company has agreements in place with Dow, Amazon $AMZN, and Centrica, and aims to make its first reactor delivery by the early 2030s, according to Bloomberg.
In 2024, X-energy received roughly $500 million from Amazon to accelerate deployment of its small modular reactor technology, according to Reuters. According to Bloomberg, Ares Management affiliates own 26% of the company, with the remaining controlling stake in Class B shares — 61% — held by Ghaffarian, the company's founder and chairman.
Last year's financials showed roughly $94 million in revenue (excluding grants) against losses of about $390 million, a sharp deterioration from the prior year's $84 million in revenue and $126 million net loss, according to Bloomberg.
The company has also granted underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 6,638,198 shares of Class A common stock, X-energy said. J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley $MS, Jefferies, and Moelis & Company acted as lead joint book-running managers.
A 2023 attempt to list via a special-purpose acquisition vehicle tied to Ares Management was ultimately abandoned, with the company pointing to difficult market conditions at the time, according to Reuters.