On May 27, Circle, the issuer of the second-largest stablecoin USDC by market capitalization, announced the launch of an initial public offering (IPO) of 24 million shares of Class A common stock.
The company has applied to list its Class A common stock on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol CRCL. Circle stated in a press release that as part of this offering, it will issue 9.6 million shares of Class A common stock.
The remaining 14.4 million shares of Class A common stock will be sold by existing shareholders. Circle also expects to grant underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 3.6 million additional shares of Class A common stock to cover over-allotments.
The announcement added that this IPO involves participation from several major U.S. investment banks, with JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Goldman Sachs serving as joint bookrunners.
The offering will also include European banks, with Barclays, Deutsche Bank Securities, and Société Générale acting as underwriters.
The joint managers of the IPO include BNY Mellon Capital Markets, Canaccord Genuity, Needham, Oppenheimer, and Santander, while the co-managers include AmeriVet Securities, Drexel Hamilton, Mischler Financial Group, and Roberts and Ryan.
Circle currently expects the IPO price range to be between $24 and $26 per share, potentially raising between $576 million and $624 million.
In the S-1 form submitted on Tuesday, Circle stated that the company will not receive any proceeds from the sale of Class A common stock by existing shareholders.
Circle noted, "The offering is subject to market conditions, and there can be no assurance that the offering will be completed or as to the actual size or terms of the offering."
The company stated that no shares may be sold until the registration statement becomes effective. Circle pointed out in the filing that cryptocurrency-focused investors like Cathie Wood's ARK Invest have expressed interest in purchasing up to $150 million of the IPO shares, adding:
"However, because the expression of interest is not a binding agreement or commitment to purchase, the underwriters may decide to sell more, less, or no shares to any of these potential purchasers, and any of these potential purchasers may also decide to purchase more, less, or no shares in the offering."
According to Reuters, Circle's IPO targets a fully diluted valuation of up to $6.71 billion.
The company previously attempted to go public in 2021 through a blank-check merger with special purpose acquisition company Concord. The initial target valuation was set at $4.5 billion, which was later revised to a valuation of $9 billion for Circle, but the company ultimately terminated the deal at the end of 2022.
Cointelegraph sought comment from Circle regarding the company's valuation in the IPO but had not received a response by the time of publication.
Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire wrote in a letter accompanying the S-1 form, "For Circle, becoming a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange is a continuation of our desire to operate with the highest level of transparency and accountability."
He added, "Operating as a publicly traded company in the U.S. represents our ongoing commitment to transparency and accountability, as we will be subject to reporting, corporate governance, and other requirements."
Founded in 2013, Circle is a major player in the cryptocurrency industry, known for issuing USDC, the second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization, following Tether's USDT.
According to CoinGecko data, as of the time of publication, USDC has a market capitalization of $61.5 billion, while its main competitor USDT has a market capitalization of $152.7 billion.
Despite Tether being a much larger player than Circle, the Salvadoran company clearly has no plans to initiate an IPO.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated in an April post on X, "Tether does not need to go public."
Related: Web3 Executives: Decentralized Telecom Will Benefit Small Businesses and Telecom Companies
Original article: “USDC Issuer Circle Advances IPO on the New York Stock Exchange”
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