Exits & Deep Reads

Circle Files for its IPO (TWIF 6/1)

A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte

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📖 Reads of the Week

☯️ Exits

💻 IPOs & SPACs

Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, filed for its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol CRCL. The company aims to raise up to $624 million by offering 24 million shares priced between $24 and $26 each. Of these, 9.6 million shares were offered by Circle, while 14.4 million shares came from existing shareholders, including Accel and General Catalyst. Circle is targeting a valuation of up to $6.71 billion on a fully diluted basis . This move follows a previously failed attempt to go public via a $9 billion SPAC deal in 2022.
- Circle reported a net income of $155.7 million in 2024, down from $267.5 million in 2023. However, revenue and reserve income increased to $1.68 billion in 2024 from $1.45 billion the previous year .
- BlackRock plans to acquire approximately 10% of the shares offered in Circle's IPO, signaling strong institutional interest. ARK Investment Management also expressed intent to purchase up to $150 million worth of shares in the offering .
- Prior speculation about a potential acquisition before the IPO was dismissed as "a very rare move" at this stage, given the advanced progress of the IPO process, including named bankers, set pricing, and a defined timetable.

🤝 M&A - Fintech

Global Payments agreed to sell its payroll division, Heartland Payroll Solutions, to Acrisure for $1.1 billion. This move is part of Global Payments' strategy to streamline operations and focus on core payment processing services.
BetaNXT acquired Delta Data, a provider of investment fund solutions. This acquisition aims to enhance BetaNXT's wealth management offerings by adding capabilities in mutual fund sub-accounting, revenue management, and compliance tools.
Circle's IPO filings revealed that it paid approximately $100 million to acquire Hashnote last month, primarily using its own shares.

🏦 M&A - Banks

NTT Docomo agreed to acquire SBI's online banking unit, SBI Sumishin Net Bank Ltd., for ¥420 billion (approximately $2.9 billion).
UniCredit invested over €600 million (around $677 million) to double its ownership in Greece's Alpha Bank.
Dai-ichi Life purchased a 15% stake in UK-based asset manager M&G for approximately $1.1 billion.
Wells Fargo entered into an agreement to sell its rail equipment leasing business, valued at $4.4 billion, to a joint venture between GATX and Brookfield. The deal included approximately 105,000 railcars and 440 locomotives. GATX initially took a 30% stake, with Brookfield holding 70%, and GATX retained the option to acquire full ownership over time.
Finzzle Groupe, a French wealth management consultancy managing €2.8 billion in assets, entered exclusive negotiations with Bridgepoint, a private equity firm, for the latter to acquire a majority stake.
Cantor Fitzgerald agreed to acquire O'Connor, the hedge fund unit of UBS, which manages approximately $11 billion in assets.