Supernova Partners II (SNII) Shareholders Approve Rigetti Deal
Supernova Partners Acquisition Company II (NYSE:SNII) announced this afternoon that its shareholders have voted to approve its combination with quantum computing firm Rigetti Holdings.
The announcement comes as no surprise as the SPAC disclosed on Friday morning that it expected to gain approval of the combination with sufficient cash to close the deal on March 2.
Supernova II passed its redemption deadline last Thursday, February 24, and now expects to deliver $114.24 million from its trust. Rigetti will receive gross proceeds of $261.75 million from the deal, including a $147.5 million PIPE, which is more than enough to satisfy the transaction’s $165 million minimum cash condition. This amounts to about 67% of shares redeemed, making it the third lowest redemption rate among the SPACs that have held votes so far in 2022.
Upon closing, the combined company will change its name to Rigetti Computing, Inc. and its common stock and public warrants will begin trading on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the ticker symbols “RGTI” and “RGTIW,” respectively, starting Wednesday, March 2.
The parties initially announced their $1.15 billion combination on October 6. Berkeley, California-based Rigetti Computing has developed scalable quantum computing chips and is working to deploy its machines in collaboration with several government and research institutions.
ADVISORS
- Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. is serving as exclusive financial advisor to Rigetti.
- Cooley LLP is serving as legal counsel to Rigetti.
- Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC is serving as exclusive financial advisor to Supernova II.
- Latham & Watkins LLP is serving as legal counsel to Supernova II.
- Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. served as placement agents to Supernova II for the PIPE financing.
- Sidley Austin LLP served as counsel to the placement agents.