Circle to go public in $4.5bn SPAC deal
Fintech firm Circle has announced it plans to go public in a $4.5 billion merger deal with special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Concord Acquisition Corp.
The deal will give Circle a value of $4.5 billion
Circle says a new Irish holding company will acquire both Concord and Circle and the combined company will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
The deal will give Circle a value of $4.5 billion, with the firm claiming existing shareholders will maintain approximately 86% ownership of the public entity.
US bank Goldman Sachs will act as the financial advisor for Concord, with the transaction expected to close in Q4 2021.
Since its launch in 2013, Circle says its platform has supported more than 100 million transactions by more than 10 million retail customers across 1,000 businesses.
It is the principal operator of the stablecoin USD Coin (USDC), of which there is currently more than $25 billion in circulation.
Concord is chaired by former Barclays chief exec Bob Diamond, who will join Circle’s board as part of the deal. Circle co-founder Jeremy Allaire will remain as CEO.
Together with the merger, Circle has also received $415 million in PIPE financing from investors including Marshall Wace, Fidelity and Adage Capital Management. Concord will also contribute up to $276 million of funds held in its trust account.
This comes a month after the US fintech announced $440 million in financing to fuel its growth.
