Crypto exchange FTX is considering the acquisition of Robinhood Markets, according to Bloomberg. There is no official announcement at this time, the media conglomerate cited anonymous sources.
Bloomberg reported that FTX is deliberating internally on a possible deal and that Robinhood has not received a formal takeover approach.
FTX’s Founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried said Monday in an emailed statement:
We are excited about Robinhood’s business prospects and potential ways we could partner with them. That being said, there are no active M&A conversations with Robinhood.
Bankman-Fried recently bought a 7.6% stake in Robinhood through his company Emergent Fidelity Technologies. Robinhood Markets is controlled by its co-founders, Chief Executive Officer Vlad Tenev and Chief Creative Officer Baiju Bhatt, who hold more than 50% of the voting power.
Robinhood Markets’s commission-free model disrupted the retail stock trading industry. The brokerage gained a lot of popularity in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic and exploded with the GameStop frenzy.
Since the firm’s initial public offering last July, Robinhood has lost a lot of its value. The brokerage’s total net revenue fell 43% to $299 million. Monthly active users on the platform decreased to 15.9 million, down from 17.7 million a year ago.
The report of a possible acquisition, refreshed the stock traders interest in Robinhood and its public stock price closed 14% higher on Monday following Bloomberg’s report.
