Microsoft, others $100 million investment in quantum startup Photonic also in this week's roundup
Teck Resources has agreed to sell its entire interest in its coal business to a Swiss commodities trading and mining company and two Asian steelmaking firms in a deal valued at approximately $12.25 billion (US$8.9 billion). Also in this week’s deals roundup is quantum startup business Photonic’s $100 million funding from Microsoft and other investors.
Teck Resources Ltd. has agreed to sell its entire coal business, Elk Valley Resources (EVR), to Swiss commodities trading giant Glencore PLC and two Asian steelmakers, Japan’s Nippon Steel and South Korea’s POSCO, in a deal valued at approximately $12.25 billion (US$8.9 billion).
Established in 1913, Teck is the largest diversified mining company in Canada. It holds a significant position as a major employer in British Columbia and is one of the oldest mining companies in the nation.
As per the agreement, Glencore will acquire 77 percent of EVR for US$6.9 billion while Nippon Steel will acquire 20 percent for US$1.7 billion and swap interest in one of Teck’s coal operations. The remaining 3 percent will go to POSCO in exchange for its interest in two of Teck’s coal operations.
Teck President and CEO Jonathan Price said, “This transaction will be a catalyst to re-focus Teck as a Canadian-based critical minerals champion with an extensive portfolio of copper growth projects, unlocking the full value potential of the company.”
“We are pleased to have reached agreement to acquire Teck’s steelmaking coal operations in the Elk Valley,” Glencore CEO Gary Nagle said. “These world-class assets and the experienced people that operate them are expected to meaningfully complement our existing thermal and steelmaking coal production located in Australia, Colombia and South Africa.”
The deal is expected to close by the third quarter of 2024, at the earliest, due to the expected length of the necessary government review.
Photonic, a startup specializing in quantum computing and networking, recently secured a funding round of $100 million. This investment includes a strategic partnership with Microsoft, where the Vancouver-based company's scalable and unified quantum computing and networking will be integrated with Microsoft's Azure cloud platform.
In addition to Microsoft, the funding round also saw investments from British Columbia Investment Management Corp., the U.K. government's National Security Strategic Investment Fund, Inovia Capital, and Amadeus Capital Partners.
With this latest round, Photonic has now raised a total of $140 million in funding since its establishment in 2016.
“We are thrilled about joining forces with Photonic in improving the world through quantum technologies,” said Microsoft Executive Vice President Jason Zander. “There is an opportunity to ignite new capabilities across the quantum ecosystem extending beyond computing, such as networking and sensing, and unlocking applications and scientific discovery at scale across chemistry, materials science, metrology, communications, and many other fields. The capabilities we aim to deliver with Photonic can enable this vision and bring about quantum’s impact far more quickly than otherwise possible.”
“It will take a global ecosystem to unlock the full promise of quantum computing,” said Photonic Founder and Chief Quantum Officer Stephanie Simmons. “No company or country can do it alone. That’s why we’re incredibly excited to be partnering with Microsoft to bring forth these new quantum capabilities. Their extensive global infrastructure, proven platforms, and the remarkable scale of the Azure cloud make them the ideal partner to unleash the transformative potential of quantum computing and accelerate innovation across the quantum computing ecosystem.”
