The asset managers BlackRock and ARK Invest have expressed their interest in acquiring more than USD 150 million in shares of Circle.
BlackRock is reportedly planning to acquire a significant stake in Circle's upcoming IPO.
According to a Bloomberg report from May 28 citing anonymous sources, BlackRock aims to acquire approximately 10% of the offering. Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, aims to raise USD 624 million in its initial public offering.
Ark Investment Management, led by Cathie Wood, is also interested in purchasing USD 150 million worth of shares in the offering, according to the report.
Circle launched its offering of 24 million Class A common shares on May 27. The offering consists of shares of the company, as well as shares from current shareholders, including co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire. According to the report, Circle's IPO has already received orders multiple times for the available shares.
With a market capitalization of USD 60.9 billion as of May 28, Circle's USDC represents 24.6% of the stablecoin market, second only to Tether's USDt.
According to its registration statement on Form S-1, Circle had revenues of USD 1.670 billion in 2024, representing a year-over-year increase of 16%. However, its net income fell from USD 267.6 million in 2023 to USD 155.7 million in 2024, a decline of 41.8%.
Circle's main competitor, Tether, does not appear to be interested in going public. In a post on X on April 4, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated that 'Tether does not need to go public.'
