Nuclear firm Holtec delays IPO

Nuclear firm Holtec delays IPO

Nuclear power engineering firm Holtec Nuclear on Wednesday postponed what was expected to be one of the largest energy IPOs of the year, citing "market conditions."

Why it matters: The anticipated listing's proceeds were intended to fund the company's expansion from dismantling power plants to restarting a retired reactor and building new ones.

Driving the news: Holtec CEO Kris Singh pointed to the market's chillier treatment in recent weeks of companies serving AI data centers.

  • "It's like a perfect storm," Singh told the Financial Times. "Our business, rightly or wrongly, is viewed as connected to it [data centres]. We provide nuclear power. So that was, of course, a big factor in market sentiment against nuclear."

    • Flashback: Axios Pro first reported in February that Holtec had confidentially filed its S-1.

  • The company in its public filing this month disclosed that it aimed to raise up to $900 million.
  • It planned to sell 50 million shares at $15–$18 per share, giving the company a valuation of $10.2 billion at the high end of its targeted range.

    • Friction point: Holtec had broadly pegged the IPO to its restart of the Palisades Nuclear Plant in Michigan — the first time a retired reactor in the U.S. would return to service.

  • Holtec initially aimed to restart the 800 MW site in October 2025, then delayed the anticipated milestone to March.
  • It's now targeting the end of the year, ahead of a contractual deadline in March 2027, per its SEC filing.

    • Between the lines: No company in North America has yet commercialized such a reactor, though many startups and incumbents are racing to do so.

  • A GE Hitachi model is set to go online in Canada in 2030, which would make it the first.

    • Catch up quick: Holtec, founded in 1986 by Krishna Singh, built a large business decommissioning nuclear plants and managing spent fuel.

  • Its ambitions have since broadened. The company aims to build advanced small modular reactors, which it plans to first deploy at Palisades.

    • What's next: Singh said the company would retain its IPO registration, but has multiple avenues to raise capital and is in conversations to borrow money.

    What we're watching: Reactor builder Westinghouse, aiming to build as many as 10 large reactors, filed this summer for an IPO.