TradeStation Group To Become Public Company Through Business Combination With Quantum FinTech
4:56 am ET November 4, 2021 (BusinessWire) Print
TradeStation Group, Inc. ("TradeStation") and Quantum FinTech Acquisition Corporation (NYSE: QFTA), a special purpose acquisition company ("Quantum FinTech"), announced today that they have executed a definitive business combination agreement through which TradeStation will become a publicly traded, NYSE-listed company under the ticker symbol "TRDE." The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2022. Net proceeds from the transaction are intended to be used to help fund the company's plans to accelerate account and revenue growth through substantially increased brand-awareness and performance-based marketing spend, as well as increased product development and IT headcount for completion of certain new product feature initiatives, and to add liquidity to support an anticipated larger customer base.
TradeStation's management team, including John Bartleman, President, Chief Executive Officer and member of TradeStation's Board of Directors, will continue to lead the company following completion of the transaction.
"This transaction is an exciting new chapter in the ongoing story of TradeStation as an innovator that supports traders and investors seeking to claim their financial edge," Mr. Bartleman said. "In recent years our appeal has grown from seasoned active traders to include a new generation of traders and investors who are drawn to TradeStation's powerful analytics and order-entry tools to help them identify opportunities, plot and test trading strategies and execute those strategies on a trusted, reliable and versatile platform. Throughout TradeStation's history, we have grown by providing our clients with a multi-asset trading platform, innovative new products and rich educational content that builds confidence among seasoned and first-time investors alike."
"There are numerous reasons why TradeStation is, in our judgment, the most attractive company we looked at in the fintech/financial services sector, and we looked at quite a few," said John Schaible, Chairman and CEO of Quantum FinTech. "TradeStation owns its core trading platform technology, and it executes and clears its customer trades across all of the major asset classes it offers. This high level of control over both its technology and operations gives TradeStation valuable agility and flexibility in how it runs and grows its business, as well as the ability to scale efficiently. And, just as important, TradeStation has a seasoned and talented management team that is public-company ready and devotes significant focus and assigns a high priority to risk management, compliance, and financial and internal controls, which we deem an essential foundation for success, particularly when seeking to achieve accelerated account and revenue growth in a highly regulated environment."
Self-directed traders and investors are drawn to TradeStation's trusted, reliable and versatile platform for equities, options and futures, as well as for cryptocurrencies, which is enhanced by a deep and growing learning environment designed to build confidence among those new to investing and to hone the skills of seasoned traders. TradeStation's technology is accessible on desktop, Web, mobile and via application programming interface ("API") technology. TradeStation's API technology creates opportunities for TradeStation brokerage customers to access TradeStation's order execution, data and other brokerage services from third-party fintech platforms on which those customers have become comfortable, which creates another avenue for account growth. More than 70 third-party platforms have been connected to TradeStation's brokerage environment through the TradeStation API.
TradeStation can, however, do more with its API technology than connect to third-party fintech investment analysis platforms. TradeStation's API technology may also be used by other brokers, as well as by cryptocurrency exchanges, to make available to their customers TradeStation's robust execution and clearing services across multiple asset classes. And there are other areas of opportunity with the TradeStation API, such as exposing and providing access to TradeStation's online brokerage environment on other types of financial sites like wealth management platforms, neo-banks and payment service platforms.
Assuming no redemptions of any public shares of Quantum FinTech, the transaction will provide approximately $316 million of cash prior to payment of expenses, consisting of the contribution of approximately $201 million of cash held in Quantum FinTech's trust account, and $115 million of additional capital through a private placement of common stock by Quantum FinTech ("PIPE"). The PIPE includes, as co-anchor investments, $50 million from Monex and $50 million from Galaxy Digital LP, which is affiliated with Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd. ("Galaxy Digital"), one of the world's leading technology-driven financial services and investment management firms that provides institutions and direct clients with a full suite of financial solutions spanning the digital assets ecosystem.
"TradeStation provides one of the most comprehensive cross-asset platforms purpose-built to serve and educate the increasingly sophisticated self-directed investor," said Chris Ferraro, Co-President & CIO at Galaxy Digital. "As cryptocurrencies and digital assets become more ubiquitous in the average investor's portfolio, Galaxy looks to partner with trusted and differentiated platforms like TradeStation, who we expect to rapidly grow its share of wallet in the market."
Transaction Overview
The transaction values the combined company at an implied pro forma enterprise value of approximately $1.43 billion. The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of both TradeStation and Quantum FinTech, as well as by Monex, TradeStation's sole shareholder. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2022, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including the approval of Quantum Fintech's shareholders.
