A Dallas fintech is making the move to the public market.
Apex Clearing Holdings LLC and Northern Star Investment Corp. II, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company or SPAC, announced a merger agreement that’s set to put the combined entity on the New York Stock Exchange.
The transaction gives Apex an enterprise value of about $4.7 billion post-money and is expected to provide up to $850 million of gross cash proceeds at closing, according to the statement.
“We are in the first inning of the digital revolution in financial services, and our merger with Northern Star will provide Apex with the resources and flexibility to accelerate our growth, scale our platform, and expand our offerings and market share alongside our clients,” Apex CEO William Capuzzi said in the statement.
The formation of Apex took place more than a half decade ago when Peak6, an investment and technology firm, acquired assets from Penson Worldwide.
Apex, which calls itself the “fintech for fintechs,” has over 200 clients representing more than 13 million customer accounts. That includes more than 1 million crypto accounts opened in 2021.
With the deal, existing Apex shareholders and management will roll over 100 percent of their equity into the combined company. Part of the cash proceeds includes an upsized, fully committed $450 million (private investment in public equity) backed by investors that include Fidelity Management & Research Co. LLC.
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Lawbook note: Apex was represented by a Sidley Austin team led out of Chicago, but included four Dallas associates: Jocelyne Kelly, Jack Zeringue, Grant Ellis and Michael Roberts.