Circle and SPAC terminate plans to take USDC issuer public

USDC stablecoin issuer Circle and publicly traded special purpose acquisition company Concord Acquisition Corp mutually ended their proposed business combination after the deal “timed out.” The mutual termination comes after over a year and a half of deliberating around the terms of Circle’s potential multibillion-dollar listing.

Previously, Circle had been eyeing an entry into the stock market via a merger with Concord Acquisition Corp, a New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) listed special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) backed by former Barclays CEO Bob Diamond.

Originally announced in July 2021, the business combination was later amended in February 2022. The agreement between the two companies would have valued Circle at $9 billion, an increase from the initial $4.5 billion. Now, both companies’ boards of directors have approved its termination, a new press release said.

“Circle plays a key role in the blockchain’s disruption of financial services,” chairman of Concord Acquisition Corp Bob Diamond said. “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.”

Jeremy Allaire, Circle co-founder and CEO, also claimed that “Concord has been a strong partner and has added value throughout this process, and we will continue to benefit from the advice and support of Bob Diamond and the broader Concord team.” He added that Circle is still committed to becoming a public company.

Also, Allaire expressed his belief that “the SEC has been rigorous and thorough in understanding our business and many novel aspects of this industry,” despite the regulator’s role in the deal timing out.

Circle is primarily known as the company behind stablecoin USDC, currently one of the largest cryptocurrencies and the second largest stablecoin by market capitalization exceeding $43 billion, data from CoinGecko read.

According to Allaire’s tweet, Circle continues to be a profitable firm, posting total revenue, including interest on its reserves of $274 million and net income of $43 million in the third quarter of 2022. The company also claims to have $400 million in unrestricted cash supplies.