Bullish announced on 5 May that it had agreed to acquire Equiniti, the transfer agent with FCA-regulated UK operations, from Siris Capital in a transaction valued at $4.2bn.
Why Bullish is buying Equiniti
Bullish said combining a regulated transfer agent with its blockchain issuance, trading and custody infrastructure would create a transfer agent built for tokenised securities. Equiniti acts as registrar for nearly 3,000 issuers and processes about $500bn of payments a year for more than 20 million shareholders.
“Tokenization is a once-in-a-generation shift in how capital markets operate, the defining infrastructure trend of the next 25 years.”
Deal terms and financing
The $4.2bn comprises $1.85bn of assumed debt and about $2.35bn of Bullish shares, subject to customary adjustments. Siris holds a call option over non-core Equiniti businesses, which it exercised in July for EQ Retirement Solutions, EQ Customer Resolutions and Lenvi; their financials were excluded from the deal disclosures.
Regulatory approvals and timing
Bullish said in July that it had received competition clearances in the UK, the US and Germany. Closing is expected in January 2027, subject to remaining regulatory approvals.
Market context
Siris acquired Equiniti in 2021. After closing, Equiniti will sit alongside Bullish Exchange and CoinDesk, with chief executive Dan Kramer keeping day-to-day responsibility.
