U.S. nuclear energy company Holtec has paused its initial public offering, through which it expected to raise $900 mln. According to Freedom’s lead analyst Natalia Milchakova, the decision reflects growing investor caution toward energy projects tied to building data centers for artificial intelligence.
Holtec manufactures equipment for the nuclear industry. The core of its business is containers for storing nuclear waste, but the company is also developing small modular reactors and is involved in restarting shuttered nuclear power plants.
Why Holtec postponed its listing
The company was supposed to set the share price ahead of the offering but suspended the process due to deteriorating market conditions. Management allows for a return to the IPO within three to six months if investor sentiment improves.
Holtec planned to use the proceeds to transform from a supplier of components and services into a reactor developer and nuclear power plant operator. Among the company’s key projects is the restart of the Palisades nuclear power plant in Michigan, which was shut down in 2022.
How nuclear energy is linked to artificial intelligence
Training and running artificial intelligence models require substantial amounts of electricity. Technology companies view nuclear generation as a source of stable power supply for data centers, so expectations of rapid growth in computing capacity supported investor interest in the nuclear sector.
However, concerns about the payback of large-scale investments in AI and some cooling of interest in the data-center race are prompting market participants to assess energy projects more carefully. Additional pressure comes from weak results of some nuclear companies that have recently gone public.
Will Holtec return to its IPO plans
Natalia Milchakova notes that U.S. investors have traditionally viewed nuclear power as a risky industry, vulnerable to accidents, regulation, and unfavorable external factors. Weaker interest in data-center construction is adding to doubts about the pace of future growth in electricity demand.
With more favorable stock-market dynamics and lower global uncertainty, Holtec may return to the share offering. The company’s situation reflects issuers’ overall caution: earlier Anthropic chose Nasdaq for an upcoming IPO, while OpenAI is considering postponing its stock-market debut. If interest in building data centers continues to decline, Holtec’s public offering may lose its economic rationale.
This is not an individual investment recommendation.