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BFD Expert Voices - Climate Deals

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Advanced nuclear company X-energy priced its shares at $23 per share on Thursday night, well above its $16-$19 target range.

Why it matters: The price shows growing investor interest in nuclear.

Zoom in: Rockville, Maryland-based X-energy sold 44.25 ⁠million ⁠shares, raising $1.02 billion and with a valuation of $9.1 billion. 

The company, which will list under the symbol "XE," plans to start trading on the Nasdaq on Friday. 

The IPO will float only about 11% of X-energy's shares, leaving the majority of the company in the hands of existing investors.

Underwriters also have the option to purchase an additional 6.64 million shares. Latham & Watkins advised the company on the IPO, while Skadden represented the underwriters.

Catch up quick: X-energy, which filed to go public in March, said earlier this month it planned to sell 42.9 ⁠million ⁠shares for $16–$19 apiece.

The intrigue: Amazon, through its Climate Pledge Fund, is the company's largest outside investor, according to the SEC filing.

Ares Management, Citadel founder Ken Griffin's XERC Holdings, and Segra Capital are all listed as shareholders. 

X-energy counts Amazon, Dow and Centrica as customers. 

How it works: X-energy has designed a high-temperature, gas-cooled modular reactor.

It licenses its reactor designs, and it plans to manufacture the fuel needed for the reactors.

The idea behind small modular reactors (SMRs) is that they can be built in factories and delivered to project areas faster and for a lower cost than a traditional nuclear plant.

The big picture: The power demands of AI data centers are leading hyperscalers to invest in both next-gen nuclear projects and traditional nuclear reactors.

The Trump administration has been trying to kick-start a nuclear renaissance and has supported the sector through various means, such as the test reactor program and streamlining the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The bottom line: With the Iran conflict shining a spotlight on foreign energy sources, market conditions appear ripe for energy IPOs.

X-energy prices above range, raising $1B

The Amazon-backed company will begin trading on the Nasdaq Friday morning

Illustration of an atom with a coin as the nucleus. 

Advanced nuclear company X-energy priced its shares at $23 per share on Thursday night, well above its $16-$19 target range.Why it matters: The price shows growing investor interest in nuclear.

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X-energy prices above range, raising $1B

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