Ripple $4B-$5B bid to purchase Circle rejected — Report
Blockchain firm:
Blockchain firm Ripple made a multibillion-dollar bid to acquire the USDC issuer, but the offer was rejected, according to Bloomberg.
Blockchain payments firm Ripple has reportedly bid up to $5 billion in an effort to acquire stablecoin issuer Circle, but the offer was rejected.
According to an April 30 Bloomberg report, Ripple put in a bid of $4 billion to $5 billion as part of an attempted takeover of Circle, which was rejected as being too low. Ripple hasn’t considered whether to make another bid to purchase the stablecoin issuer.
The reported acquisition attempt came less than 30 days after Circle applied for an initial public offering (IPO) in the US. Cointelegraph reached out to representatives of Circle and Ripple for comment, but had not received a response from either at the time of publication.
Ripple reportedly had an $11 billion valuation in 2024, an estimate CEO Brad Garlinghouse called “outdated” as of January. The blockchain company purchased prime broker Hidden Road for roughly $1.2 billion in April, claiming the move would help scale activity for XRP and XRP Ledger.
Court cases winding down:
It’s unclear whether Ripple intends to pursue the Circle acquisition as the firm begins to clear some of its legal entanglements with US regulators.
In August 2024, a court found Ripple liable for $125 million in a case with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) first filed in 2020. However, Garlinghouse announced in March that the SEC planned to drop its appeal against the firm over the ruling, with Ripple later stating it would pay a net $50 million for the lower court judgment.
Both announcements followed meetings between Garlinghouse and Ripple's chief legal officer, Stuart Alderoty, and US President Donald Trump. The blockchain firm contributed $5 million to Trump’s inauguration fund after his election victory, and both executives attended events as official guests on Jan. 20.
Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, has rejected Ripple's $4-5 billion acquisition offer, citing the bid as too low. With USDC's market capitalization at $61.7 billion, Circle likely deemed the offer insufficient. This development comes after Circle filed for an initial public offering (IPO) in the US, which might have influenced their decision to reject the acquisition.
*Key Details:*
- *Acquisition Offer*: Ripple offered $4-5 billion to acquire Circle.
- *Reason for Rejection*: Circle considered the offer too low compared to its USDC market value.
- *Circle's Plans*: Circle is focusing on going public through an IPO.
- *Ripple's Stablecoin*: Ripple's own stablecoin, RLUSD, has a market capitalization of $317 million, significantly lower than USDC's.
*Impact on Ripple and XRP:*
- *XRP Price*: XRP's price is currently $2.20, with a 1.03% decrease in the last 24 hours.
- *Ripple's Strategy*: Ripple might not pursue another bid for Circle, but its interest in the stablecoin market remains evident.
- *Hidden Road Acquisition*: Ripple recently acquired prime brokerage firm Hidden Road for $1.25 billion, expanding its presence in traditional finance.
