Unicorn Republic Acquires Seedrs In €88 Million Deal!

US-BASED UNICORN Republic ACQUIRES CROWDFUNDING PLATFORM Seedrs IN €88 MILLION DEAL

US-based unicorn Republic has reportedly acquired the leading pan-European equity crowdfunding platform Seedrs having entered into an acquisition agreement valued in the region of €88 million. However, it is believed the agreement will create one of the first global private investment marketplaces with offerings across Europe and North America.  

The latest development follows the Republic’s recent fundraise of €132 million backed by Valor Equity Partners, which also follows the termination of the previously planned merger between Crowdcube and Seedrs earlier this year, viewed as explosive news in this sphere of industry.

Meanwhile, the U.S. unicorn Republic headquartered in New York was founded in 2016. Also, a company that has grown into a leading U.S.  fintech, which has so far backed over 600 companies with a community of more than 1.5 million users across 100 countries. More significantly is the company’s current status, a unicorn that allows everyone to invest in the private equity market, debt, or crypto offerings via their retail platform. In addition to that, Republic’s retail investment platform equally hosts offerings across startups, crypto, real estate, gaming, music, and a lot more.  

In another dimension, the crowdfunding platform Seedrs launched in 2012, and headquartered in London, which has offices across Europe is also considered as a leading European online investment platform. A platform that enables investors to buy and sell shares in private companies coupled with ambitious entrepreneurs by paving ways for them to invest in their businesses while building communities in the process, having funded over 1,400 deals to date. Equally, as part of the company’s footprint, the crowdfunding platform is regarded as one of the first regulated securities crowdfunding platforms in the world, which also led the chase to introduce a secondary marketplace in addition to hosting a number of the industry’s most significant success stories.

“Seedrs’ ambition has always been to build a global private equity marketplace. This transaction is a natural development of our partnership with Republic to achieve and go beyond that ambition. We share a similar culture, a common goal, and a commitment to the strategic opportunities that lie ahead. We have great admiration for the teams at Republic, and together we can accelerate our plans to create a powerful global private investment marketplace that will transform the finance ecosystem and the communities they serve”, ‘Jeff Kelisky’, CEO of Seedrs noted.

While this remains a piece of big news for equity crowdfunding and private investments in the U.S. and Europe, U.S. unicorn is believed to now be able to rapidly advance their European presence coupled with additional capital that Republic will commit towards expanding Seedrs reach notably in the areas of new innovative and products offering for European investors and private businesses.         

Republic’s founder and CEO ‘Kendrick Nguyen’ said: “Republic launched with the mission to make private investments accessible to all. We knew international expansion was necessary to achieve cross-bordered participation. In working with Seedrs, we have admired their technological capabilities, the strength of their team, and their strong presence in the UK and soon Europe. We anticipate further developing the strength of both companies from retail, secondaries, crypto, and communities to create a clear industry leader”.

The latest development will see Seedrs’s CEO ‘Jeff Kelisky’ join Republic’s leadership team while continuing as Seedrs CEO, and this is because the aim is to double down on UK business while delivering on Republic’s European expansion goal. However, a deal that is expected to be completed in early 2022, saw the participation of Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP, the global institutional investment management firm.

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