Crypto exchange operator Bullish, which also owns media outlet CoinDesk, raised $1.1 billion in its initial public offering, pricing shares above the expected range.
The digital-asset exchange operator sold 30 million shares Tuesday for $37 each, the company said in a website statement dated Tuesday, News.Az reports, citing Bloomberg.
They were earlier marketed at $32 to $33 apiece.
At the IPO price, Bullish would have a market value of $5.4 billion based on the outstanding shares listed in its filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Bullish on Monday had increased the number of shares it planned to offer to 30 million and raised the price range, a filing showed. The IPO was more than 20 times oversubscribed, people familiar with the matter have said.
BlackRock Inc. and ARK Investment Management were separately interested in buying as much as $200 million of shares in aggregate at the IPO price, according to the filing.
The company announced in 2021 that it planned to go public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, in a deal that would have valued the combined firm at about $9 billion. The merger was scrapped in 2022.
Bullish, which counts former New York Stock Exchange president Tom Farley as its chief executive officer, offers crypto spot trading, margin trading and derivatives trading, with a focus on institutional investors, the filing showed.
Bullish’s biggest investors include its co-founder, Block.one CEO Brendan Blumer, who is expected to own 30.1% of the shares following the offering. Bullish board member Kokuei Yuan is set to have 26.7% of the shares, according to the filing.
The offering is being led by JPMorgan Chase & Co., Jefferies Financial Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc. The company plans to make its debut Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BLSH.
