financemagnates.com
eToro confirmed on Tuesday that the Israeli trading company will merge with blank check company FinTech Acquisition Corp. V for making its public debut on Nasdaq.
The confirmation from the trading company came after many media reports revealed its plans to go public for months.
The combined companies will operate as eToro Group Ltd, and the estimated implied equity value will be around $10.4 billion at closing, a value that was expected from earlier reports. This will put implied enterprise value for eToro at $9.6 billion.
The official announcement further detailed that $650 million will be raised from private placement in the public equity and another $250 million from FinTech V’s cash in trust. Private investors, including ION Investment, Softbank, and Fidelity, will receive the equity at $10 per share.
Existing eToro investors will hold 91 percent of the combined entity formed with the SPAC merger.
Though the boards of both eToro and the SAPC approved the deal, it is now pending shareholders’ approval and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021.
Commenting on the major development, eToro co-founder and CEO, Yoni Assia said: “Today marks a momentous milestone for eToro as we embark on our journey to become a publicly-traded company with Betsy Cohen and the team at FinTech V. I want to express my gratitude for the passion, hard work, drive and determination of all of the eToro team members over the past 14 years who have helped make this a reality.”
The SPAC Route
Special Purpose Acquisition Company or SPAC has received a lot of popularity lately as operational companies are now seeking an easier route to the stock exchange, instead of the traditional initial public offering (IPO) process.
Many companies like SoFi and Payoneer are have gone public with the SPAC merger. Bakkt, the cryptocurrency arm of Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), is also reportedly planning for a SPAC merger.
“As a pioneer in the evolution of SPACs, Fintech Masala, our sponsor platform, seeks out companies with outsized growth, effective controls and excellent management teams. eToro meets all three of these criteria. In the last few years, eToro has solidified its position as the leading online social trading platform outside the U.S., outlined its plans for the U.S. market, and diversified its income streams.” Betsy Cohen, the businesswoman behind who led FinTech V SPAC, said.