eToro to Go Public Via Merger With SPAC; Combined Firm to Have $10.4B Value

Trading platform eToro said Tuesday it will become publicly traded via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The site has long supported cryptocurrency buying and selling.

• Through a merger with FinTech Acquisition Corp. V, the combined entity will have a implied equity value of about $10.4 billion, reflecting an implied enterprise value for eToro of about $9.6 billion, eToro said.
• The deal includes $250 million in gross proceeds from FinTech V's cash in trust from a fully committed private placement in public equity at $10.00 per share that will close at the same time as the merger.
• The combined company will operate as eToro Group Ltd. and be listed on the Nasdaq. eToro said it expects to have about $800 million net cash on its balance sheet.
• FinTech Acquisition Corp. V is led by Betsy Cohen, who has been involved with several other SPACs, including one that took Perella Weinberg public.
• Goldman Sachs is advising eToro while Citi is advising FinTech V.
• The eagerly awaited publicly listing of Coinbase, which may reach a valuation of $100 billion, has been expected to ignite a wave of crypto firms to go public, many of them using SPACs. 
• Bakkt, the cryptocurrency exchange launched by  Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) in 2018, is also expected to carry out a SPAC merger later this year, valuing the combined entity at $2.1 billion.
• "We started this year with bang thanks to the crypto rally," eToro CEO Yoni Assia told CoinDesk in an interview.