USD Coin Issuer Circle Axes SPAC Merger

By Dean Seal

Circle Internet Financial Ltd., the crypto firm that manages the stablecoin USD Coin, said it has scrapped a proposed go-public merger with blank-check company Concord Acquisition Corp.

Circle and the special-purpose acquisition company jointly said Monday that they agreed to terminate the deal, which was first announced in July 2021.

In February, the two companies pushed back the timetable for a post-merger public offering to this month, saying the new date was needed "for a variety of reasons outside the parties control." The delay came as the SPAC market was cooling and crypto-currency prices were receding from all-time highs months earlier.

The crypto market is in greater disarray following the high-profile collapse of crypto exchange FTX and growing regulatory scrutiny of the digital asset space.

Circle and Concord didn't comment directly in their statement on why they were canceling the deal, saying only that the boards of both companies agreed on the termination.

In a statement, Concord Chairman Bob Diamond said he was still confident in Circle's "regulatory-first approach to building trust and transparency in the financial industry" and that he would be an advocate for the company as it grows.

Circle co-founder and Chief Executive Jeremy Allaire said that becoming a public company remains part of Circle's core strategy to enhance trust and transparency, "which has never been more important."

Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 05, 2022 09:02 ET (14:02 GMT)

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