Circle has just announced that it is going public with the help of a SPAC (special purpose acquisition corporation) in the form of Concord Acquisition Corp, which has $275 million in trust.
The public listing values Circle at $4.5 billion. Existing Circle shareholders will keep around 86% of the company. In addition, investors such as Marshall Wace, Fidelity, Adage Capital Management, ARK Investment Management, and Third Point, have committed to $415 million in PIPE financing.
The PIPE financing, together with cash in trust, and Circle’s convertible note financing, will provide more than $1.1 billion in gross proceeds on the close of the transaction.
Circle operates the USD Coin (USDC), a stablecoin similar to USDT, but with provable one dollar backing to each USDC. It has become the fastest growing, fully reserved and fully regulated digital currency in the world.
Circle has entered into agreement with Concord Acquisition Corp, which will see a new Irish holding company (the “Company”) acquiring both Circle and Concord. This new publicly-traded company will list on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CRCL.
Bob Diamond, Chairman of Concord Acquisition Corp said of his company’s new partner:
“Circle is the true pioneer of trusted digital currencies, an increasingly critical part of the global financial system. The firm has earned its exceptionally strong reputation building highly innovative blockchain-enabled products and services within the regulatory perimeter. Circle’s world-class leadership team, its track record of delivery, and extraordinary ambition help position the firm as one of the most exciting companies in the transformation of finance.”
Jeremy Allaire, CEO and co-founder of Circle remarked:
“Circle was founded with a mission to transform the global economic system through the power of digital currencies and the open internet. We’ve made huge strides towards realizing this vision, and through this strategic transaction and ultimate public debut, we are taking an even bigger step forward, with the capital and relationships needed to build a global-scale internet financial services company that can help businesses everywhere to connect into a more open, inclusive and effective global economic system.”
He added:
“We are thrilled to partner with Concord’s executive and investment team, drawing on their decades of operating experience growing financial services businesses around the world.”
Circle’s USD Coin (USDC) now has $25 billion in circulation and has been part of $785 billion on-chain transactions. With a growth of 3400% since the beginning of 2021, it now has many use-cases for high-trust, low-friction payments and settlements.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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