Cryptocurrency company Circle is eyeing an initial public offering (IPO) via a merger with Concord Acquisition Corp, a publicly-traded special purpose acquisition corporation (SPAC) in a deal that values the firm at US$4.5 billion. The transaction is anticipated to close in Q4 2021.

Concord had previously raised US$276 million in its initial public offering in December 2020 and is listed on the NYSE.

Upon completion of the transaction, existing Circle shareholders will maintain approximately 86% ownership of the public entity.

Under the terms of the agreement, a new Irish holding company will acquire both Concord and Circle and become a publicly-traded company, expected to trade on the NYSE under the symbol “CRCL”.

The SPAC has US$276 million in trust while investors have committed US$415 million in private investment in public equity (PIPE) financing by leading institutional investors including Marshall Wace LLP, Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, Adage Capital Management LP, accounts advised by ARK Investment Management LLC (“ARK”) and Third Point.

This coupled with Circle’s recent fundraise of US$440 million will provide the firm with over US$1.1 billion in gross proceeds upon the close of the transaction.

Circle‘s co-founder, Jeremy Allaire, will remain CEO of the company while Bob Diamond, Chairman of Concord Acquisition Corp and CEO of Atlas Merchant Capital will join the board.

The firm is the principal operator of the fastest growing dollar digital currency, USD Coin (USDC), which has grown to more than $25 billion in circulation and has supported more than $785 billion in on-chain transactions.

In 2021, USDC in circulation has grown in excess of 3400%, fueling a broadening array of use cases for high-trust, low-friction internet-native payments and settlements.

Jeremy Allaire, Circle’s Co-Founder and CEO commented,

“While this transaction, and the transformation of Circle into a global, publicly listed company is exciting in and of itself, it is merely a marker in our journey to transform the world’s economic system using internet-native technologies.

 

We have a long way to go in pursuing our mission, and are incredibly grateful to each and every one of you for your support and engagement with Circle. We are also thrilled to partner with Concord’s executive and investment team, drawing on their decades of operating experience growing financial services businesses around the world.”

Featured image: Jeremy Allaire, Co-founder and CEO of Circle (Photo: Business Wire)