Crypto Billionaire-Backed SPAC Listing Plan Sends Monex Limit Up

(Bloomberg) -- Monex Group Inc. surged by its daily limit after the Japanese financial firm announced plans to list its U.S. online trading subsidiary through a deal with Michael Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd.

In a statement after the market close Thursday, Monex said its wholly-owned unit TradeStation Group Inc. plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange in the first half of 2022 following a merger with Quantum FinTech Acquisition Corp. The deal puts TradeStation at an implied pro forma enterprise value of $1.43 billion at closing.

The special purpose acquisition company will receive $50 million from each of the co-anchor investors, Monex and Galaxy Digital LP, a unit of Galaxy Digital Holdings. Monex will own about 80% of TradeStation at closing. The Japanese firm’s stock jumped 20% Friday, the most since April 2018.

Monex acquired TradeStation -- a platform for trading stocks, ETFs, derivatives and cryptocurrencies -- in 2011 for about $400 million. Canada-listed Galaxy, which was founded by billionaire and former Goldman partner Novogratz, had $2.3 billion in assets under management as of Sept. 30. 

SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. analyst Takayuki Hara wrote in a note that Monex “may look undervalued in the near term” as the subsidiary’s equity value materializes. He said he’ll look at Monex’s top-line growth corresponding to the investment and whether synergies can be realized with Galaxy.

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