Lenz & Staehelin advises SK Telecom on IonQ partnership
Lenz & Staehelin advised South-Korean SK Telecom on all Swiss law aspects of its strategic partnership agreement with US-based quantum computing company, IonQ.
The deal
SK Telecom has agreed to transfer all its shares in its Swiss-based affiliate ID Quantique SA to IonQ, thus receiving an equivalent amount of IonQ shares in return. This share swap transaction will result in quantum cryptography specialist ID Quantique SA becoming a subsidiary of IonQ, with SK Telecom retaining a participation in IonQ. The acquisition is valued at approximately $250 million, with closing planned for Spring 2025.
The Lenz & Staehelin team
Head of corporate and M&A Andreas Rötheli (pictured) led the Lenz & Staehelin team on the transaction, with further support from Pierrick Sunier, Noé Luisoni, David di Rosa (all corporate and M&A), Maximilien de Ridder (tax) and Sevan Antreasyan (IP).
The Swiss firm worked alongside lead counsel Lee&Ko and US law counsel White and Case.
