Robinhood grows its footprint in Canada by acquiring WonderFi
Robinhood revealed Tuesday that it's acquiring Canadian crypto leader WonderFi for CA$250 million (around $178.56 million) in an all-cash deal as it pushes into Canada's growing digital asset market.
WonderFi operates two regulated crypto platforms, Bitbuy and Coinsquare, with over CA$2.1 billion in assets under custody. The transaction offers WonderFi shareholders CA$0.36 per share, representing a 41% premium over the company's recent closing price. (WonderFi went public in Canada through a reverse takeover in 2021.)
The tie-up follows Robinhood's $200 million purchase of European exchange Bitstamp last year and reinforces its global expansion strategy.
WonderFi's team, including CEO Dean Skurka, will join Robinhood Crypto, adding to the roughly 140 employees Robinhood already has in Toronto.
The deal is expected to close in the second half of this year.
TechCrunch talked with Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev in December about his enthusiasm over a new U.S. administration that's far friendlier to the crypto industry, and about Robinhood's own growing focus on crypto. 'I think crypto is the next in line in a long chain of technology innovations that have changed the underlying infrastructure of the financial system in a positive way,' Tenev said at the time.
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