Crypto Investor Ribbit Files USD 350m IPO, Set for Possible Mergers

Aiming for potential future mergers with related companies, Ribbit LEAP, a newly-formed business offshoot from early bitcoin (BTC) venture capital firm Ribbit Capital, has filed for a USD 350 million Initial Public Offering (IPO) with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The IPO filing revealed that Ribbit is offering 35 million units at an offering price of USD 10 per unit.

Furthermore, the filing said, Ribbit LEAP “is a newly incorporated blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company and incorporated for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities, which we refer to as our initial business combination.”

No such partner has been selected yet,”nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination partner,” the company said.

Therefore, this is a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) – one without a pre-existing operation but with plans to go public, aiming to acquire or merge with another company through the proceeds of the SPAC’s initial public offering.

“We view partnership with management teams as a commitment for a decade or more,” Ribbit LEAP wrote in the filing. “Because of this we are focused on long-term value creation, and we seek to partner with investors with the same orientation.”

Without much known about Ribbit LEAP, expectations are that the newly public firm will conduct business similar to Ribbit Capital, which is a major investor in Coinbase, Chainalysis, Robinhood, as well as other cryptocurrency-based firms, as Forbes noted.

Investment banking giant JPMorgan Chase and Co was listed as the sole underwriter of the IPO, and Ribbit plans to apply for listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the article added.

Ribbit Capital is also credited as a founding member of Facebook’s Libra Association, bolstering its involvement in the cryptoverse.

Meanwhile, as reported, talks of a Ripple IPO made the rounds yet again back in January. In July, Coinbase was said to be preparing to list its shares on a stock exchange this year or early next year, while exploring going public via a direct listing.

____

Learn more:
XRP Unmoved, as Brad Garlinghouse Discusses Ripple’s IPO Once Again
Major Bitcoin Exchange Coinbase Prepares For Stock Market Listing – Report