** Shares of Real Asset Acquisition Corp RAAQ.O rising 1.7% to $10.47 on Mon after special-purpose acquisition co (SPAC) announced a merger with IQM Quantum Computers for the Finland-based firm to become the first listed European quantum co

** RAAQ shares jump as high as $10.63 on the session, highest since Oct 15 when they touched record intraday high of $10.82

** The transaction will take IQM public in the U.S. at an initial equity valuation of ~$1.8 bln, with the deal expected to close around June

** IQM operates in the high-growth quantum computing sector, seen as crucial for cybersecurity and attracting investment from tech giants like Microsoft MSFT.O, Alphabet GOOGL.O and IBM IBM.N

** The Finnish co expects $35 mln in rev in 2025, according to the investor presentation

** RAAQ, backed by former Goldman Sachs managing director Peter Ort and Atlas Capital partner Jeff Tuder, went public last Apr in $150 mln IPO priced at $10

** About 1.3 mln RAAQ shares have traded so far on Mon vs their 10-DMA volume of just 29,000 shares, per LSEG