Stablecoin Issuer Circle Delays Planned IPO

Digital currency firm Circle Internet Financial’s plans to go public have been delayed.

The issuer of the USD Coin (USDC) and Euro Coin (EUROC) and publicly traded special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Concord Acquisition Corp have mutually agreed to end their proposed business combination, the companies said Monday (Dec. 5) in a press release.

“We are disappointed the proposed transaction timed out, however, becoming a public company remains part of Circle’s core strategy to enhance trust and transparency, which has never been more important,” Circle Co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire said in the release.

The companies’ proposed business combination was initially announced in July 2021 and amended in February 2022, according to the press release.

Concord’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation gave Concord until Dec. 10 to consummate a business combination and until Jan. 31, 2023, if the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) declares the S-4 registration statement for the business combination effective and if shareholders vote to extend the date. To date, the statement has not been declared effective, the release said.

The termination of the proposed business combination was approved by both Concord’s and Circle’s board of directors, per the release.

Circle became profitable in the third quarter and ended the quarter with close to $400 million in unrestricted cash, according to the press release.

“Circle plays a key role in the blockchain’s disruption of financial services,” Concord Acquistion Corp Chairman Bob Diamond said in the release. “I remain confident in Circle’s regulatory-first approach to building trust and transparency in the financial industry, which has never been more important, and I will continue being an advocate for the company as it continues to grow.”

The announcement comes about two months after blockchain payments startup Roxe and SPAC Goldenstone Acquistion mutually terminated their merger.

As PYMNTS reported Oct. 6, 26 SPAC mergers in the United States had been scrapped before August of this year, compared to 18 in all of 2021 and seven in 2020, according to Spac Research.

For all PYMNTS crypto coverage, subscribe to the daily Crypto Newsletter.