European trading app听eToro听is to go public in the US via a blank cheque company, known as a SPAC.听
It has agreed a $10.4 billion valuation as part of the听merger with听FinTech Acquisition Corp. V, a shell company听set up by banking tycoon Betsy Cohen which听is publicly listed in the US.听
Founded in Israel in 2007,听eToro听has headquarters in Tel Aviv, London and听Limassol, Cyprus.听Its听2020 revenues soared to more than $600 million, while it attracted 5m new registered users last year. It now has more than 20m users on the platform.听
鈥淭oday marks a momentous milestone for听eToro听as we embark on our journey to become a publicly traded company with鈥he team at FinTech V,鈥� said CEO Yoni Assia.听
Reports听in December听claimed听eToro听was听considering听a $5bn listing on听New York鈥檚听Nasdaq.听
/they-fought-like-cats-in-a-bag-and-created-a-multi-billion-dollar-company/
A听stockbroking and spread betting platform听licensed in the UK by the FCA, it is听popular听with young investors听as it allows them to听buy fractions of shares听for small amounts of money,听as well as听trade in听cryptocurrency.听听
It also allows users to track more experienced traders 鈥� who subsequently earn commission 鈥� via a 鈥榗opycat鈥� trading system.听
However only 85% of assets traded on the platform are real, as it also allows for the trading of CFDs. A听contract for differences is an arrangement made in financial derivatives trading where the differences in the settlement between the open and closing听trade听prices are cash-settled, with no delivery of physical goods or securities.听
More than two-thirds of听eToro听customers who trade CFDs lose money, as is made clear on its website.听
/feature-submissions/
eToro听will receive $250m from a pot raised by the SPAC in December and $650m from a group of institutional investors, including SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Fidelity.听
The company鈥檚 existing major investors are from the听US and China, including Ping An and China Minsheng Financial, with听early European investors including听Anthemis, Israeli group BRM Capital, and Germany鈥檚听CommerzVentures.听
Tech media outlet听Sifted reports that听retail investors in Europe听鈥�will now have limited exposure to shares in听eToro, given it will now be listed with a US vehicle鈥�.听