USDC Stablecoin Issuer Circle Is Now Valued at $9B

Key Takeaways

Circle has signed a new deal for a SPAC merger with Concord Acquisition Corp.
The new agreement gives Circle a $9 billion valuation, double its prior valuation from July 2021.
The new agreement is expected to be exercised in December 2022.

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Circle, the issuer of USDC, has shared new details regarding its transition to becoming a publicly trading firm. Its valuation is now $9 billion.

Circle’s Valuation Doubles Ahead of SPAC Merger

USDC issuer Circle has terminated last year’s SPAC merger deal terms with Concord Acquisition Corp. Due to a reappraisal of the Circle’s valuation, a new agreement has been signed.

According to a Thursday press release, the new agreement gives Circle a $9 billion valuation, double the $4.5 valuation penned in its original July 2021 agreement with Concord Acquisition.

Circle announced its plans to go public last summer through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) called Concord Acquisition Corp by end of 2021. SPACs are shell companies that conduct initial public offerings to merge with private firms and take them public.

Since the original deal was announced last year, USDC’s circulating supply has more than doubled, crossing $52.7 billion as of Feb. 17, 2022. The rise in the USDC supply prompted Circle to reassess its valuation, the announcement said.

The revised SPAC agreement accounts for Circle’s improved financial outlook, and its growing share of the total stablecoin market. Per the new SPAC agreement, both Circle and Concord Acquisition will be acquired by a single holding company in December 2022, but it can be extended until Jan. 31, 2023. The company will then be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the stock ticker symbol CRCL.

While Circle’s valuation has doubled, Concord Acquisition’s market capitalization has consolidated around $370 million since July 2021. This means that Concord Acquisition’s shareholders will receive around half of the payout they would have received if the original deal had gone through. CND shares are down -3.76% on the day.

Nevertheless, Concord Acquisition’s management team has expressed positive sentiment regarding the deal.  Commenting on the arrangement in the press release, Bob Diamond, Chairman of Concord Acquisition Corp, said:

“We believe our new deal is attractive because it preserves the ability of Concord’s public stakeholders to participate in a transaction with this great company.”

USDC is the world’s second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization, trailing only Tether (USDT).

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