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7/8/2021 Cryptocurrency Operator Circle to Go Public in $4.5 Billion SPAC Merger - WSJ

https://www.wsj.com/articles/cryptocurrency-operator-circle-to-go-public-in-4-5-billion-spac-merger-11625754758?mod=searchresults_pos2&page=1 1/2

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https://www.wsj.com/articles/cryptocurrency-operator-circle-to-go-public-in-4�5-billion-spac-merger-11625754758

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Cryptocurrency Operator Circle to Go Public in $4.5 Billion SPAC Merger The company issues a so-called stablecoin, a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain an equal

value to the U.S. dollar

Jeremy Allaire, co-founder of Circle Internet Financial, spoke at a conference in New York in 2016. PHOTO: MICHAEL NAGLE�BLOOMBERG NEWS

By July 8, 2021 10�32 am ET

Paul Vigna

Circle Internet Financial Inc., one of the biggest companies in the cryptocurrency sector, is merging with a special-purpose acquisition company to go public in a deal that values the company at $4.5 billion.

On Thursday, Circle said it is merging with Concord Acquisition Corp. , a SPAC sponsored by investment firm Atlas Merchant Capital that raised $276 million in its December initial public offering.

Founded in 2013 by Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville, Circle issues and maintains a so- called stablecoin known as USD Coin, a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain an equal value to the U.S. dollar, and provides related services.

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7/8/2021 Cryptocurrency Operator Circle to Go Public in $4.5 Billion SPAC Merger - WSJ

https://www.wsj.com/articles/cryptocurrency-operator-circle-to-go-public-in-4-5-billion-spac-merger-11625754758?mod=searchresults_pos2&page=1 2/2

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Circle is the latest company from the crypto industry to turn to the public markets in the wake of bitcoin’s growth last year and earlier this year. In 2021 alone, bitcoin doubled in price to nearly $64,000, attracting a swath of new investors and capital into the crypto markets. In April, the crypto exchange Coinbase Global Inc. debuted via a direct listing.

Bitcoin’s price has fallen about 50% since the spring, however, cooling that fervor. On Thursday morning, it was trading around $32,475.

Stablecoins have emerged as a key source of liquidity in the crypto markets, but have also raised questions about associated risks, primarily revolving around the composition of the reserves backing them.

Circle’s USD Coin has grown rapidly over the past year, with more than $25 billion in circulation, up from $1 billion a year ago. It is second only to cryptocurrency company Tether, which has about $63 billion in circulation.

The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter. The resulting company, to be called Circle, will be an Irish holding company trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CRCL, the company said.

Investors in the Circle merger include Fidelity Management & Research Co., Third Point LLC, Marshall Wace, and Adage Capital Management. Investors have committed about $415 million at $10 a share through a PIPE, or private investment in public equity, a common feature of SPAC mergers.

Between the IPO proceeds, investment commitments and about $440 million Circle raised in a May fundraising round, the resulting company will have about $1.1 billion in capital.

The transaction has been approved by the boards of both companies, Circle said.

Write to Paul Vigna at [email protected]

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