Circle Internet Financial Receives $400M in Funding

Concord Acquisition Corp.’s (NYSE:CND) crypto target, Circle, has received $400 million in funding with investments from BlackRock, Inc (NYSE:BLK), Fidelity Management and Research, Marshall Wace LLP and Fin Capital.

Although today’s investment is not directly associated with the business combination, Fidelity and Marshall Wace participated in the transaction’s original PIPE before it was cancelled and replaced with the current terms.

In the original terms, Concord brought about $276 million into the deal from its trust with $415 million more initially coming from the PIPE priced at $10 per share. That PIPE drew investment from Marshall Wace, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Adage Capital Management, as well as accounts advised by ARK Investment Management and Third Point.

This news comes just two months after Concord re-struck its combination agreement with Circle for a new proposed equity value at $9 billion, double the initial equity value of $4.5 billion.  However, while a new S-4/A should be forthcoming, Concord/Circle have not filed an amended S-4/A since December 23, 2021.  Their initial S-4 was filed on August 6, 2021, eight months ago.

Per the press release, the $400 million in funding will be used to promote Circle’s continued strategic growth as demand for dollar digital currency and related financial services continues to scale globally. The investment round is expected to close in the second quarter.

Concord initially announced its $4.5 billion deal with Circle on July 8, 2021. Boston-based Circle is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency service managing the USD coin and SeedInvest crowdinvesting platform.

In addition to its corporate strategic investment and role as a primary asset manager of USD coin cash reserves, BlackRock has also entered into a broader strategic partnership with Circle, which will include exploring capital market applications for USD coin.