Global Fintech Company Circle to go public in a deal that values the crypto financial services firm at $4.5 billion, the company said on Thursday. It will go public through the Concord Acquisition Corp (NYSE: CND), which is a publicly-traded special purpose acquisition corporation (SPAC).
Circle Inc. provides payment infrastructure for digital currencies. It has officially announced its plan this Thursday to go public this year.
A new Irish holding company will acquire both Concord and Circle and become a publicly-traded company. It will trade on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker “CRCL”. Existing Circle shareholders will maintain approximately 86% ownership of the public entity.
Jeremy Allaire, co-founder of Circle Inc., will remain the CEO of the new company. Bob Diamond, chairman of the Concord will join the board of directors. The boards of both Concord and Circle unanimously approved the transaction. The listing is likely to close in the fourth quarter of 2021.
After the announcement, Allaire wrote in a tweet that the transformation from a private to a public company “creates an opportunity for Circle also to provide significantly more transparency about the business we are building around USDC, and about the reserves that back USDC”.
Transaction Overview
The development is supported by $415 million of capital commitments at $10 per share through PIPE financing. It includes Marshall Wace, Fidelity Management & Research Co., Daniel Loeb’s, Third point and accounts advised by ARK Investment Management. PIPE stands for Private investment in public equity.
Also Read: Circle USDC: Show Your Transparent Nature to the World
The circle is the principal developer of USD Coin (USDC), the second-largest stablecoin after Tether (USDT). Backed by major American Investment bank Goldman Sachs, the Circle is serving as the exclusive financial advisor to Concord.
This transformation makes Circle the second crypto-based company to go public in the USA after Coinbase. Coinbase became the first publicly traded company in the month of April after direct listing on the Nasdaq.
