Peter Thiel-backed Bullish seeks up to $4.2 billion valuation in U.S. IPO

CNBC

19 hours ago

Crypto exchange Bullish is targeting a valuation of up to $4.23 billion in its United States listing, the company said in a filing on Monday, launching its roadshow to capitalize on the momentum built by digital assets amid regulatory clarity.
Companies leveraging crypto and related technologies have rallied on friendly policymaking from the Trump administration, such as the recent passage of the GENIUS Act, which provides an initial regulatory framework for stablecoins.
Bullish is seeking up to $629.3 million by offering 20.3 million shares priced between $28 and $31 each, marking its second attempt to go public in four years.
At the top of its proposed range, the company will list at a more than 52% discount to its $9-billion valuation target in a 2021 blank check merger that it called off in 2022, citing regulatory hurdles.
"When an IPO begins marketing, the bankers would rather undershoot on valuation and then price up, rather than overshoot and price down," said Matt Kennedy, senior strategist at Renaissance Capital, a provider of IPO-focused research and ETFs.
Bullish, backed by billionaire Peter Thiel, plans to convert a significant portion of the IPO proceeds to U.S.-dollar-denominated stablecoins with the assistance of one or more issuers of such tokens, it said in the filing.
Major stablecoin-issuer Circle Internet CRCL.K had a blowout debut on the NYSE in June and currently trades at more than 400% of its IPO price.
Bullish, whose CEO Thomas Farley previously served as president of the New York Stock Exchange, operates a crypto-trading exchange targeting institutions.
It also operates crypto news website CoinDesk, which it acquired from Barry Silbert's Digital Currency Group in 2023.
Bullish swung to a $349 million loss for the quarter ended March 31, compared with a profit of $105 million a year earlier, reflecting a fall in fair value of its crypto holdings.
Meanwhile, largest public crypto exchange Coinbase COIN.O reported a drop in second-quarter adjusted profit on Friday, due to a slowdown in trading, which dragged its shares down nearly 17%, even though the company recorded portfolio gains.
Some investors tend to overlook the impact of quarterly swings in crypto prices when evaluating such companies, analysts have said.
According to Renaissance Capital's Kennedy, investors will focus on "how efficient (Bullish is) and how profitable it is as a pure exchange, without the impact of quarterly price changes."
Bullish aims to list on the NYSE under the symbol "BLSH." J.P. Morgan, Jefferies and Citigroup are the lead underwriters.