Bullish to acquire Equiniti for $4.2B, betting on tokenised securities
What's the deal? Bullish (NYSE: BLSH), the institutional-grade digital asset platform, has agreed to acquire Equiniti, a global transfer agent, in US$2.72B transaction. The deal comprises $1.85B in assumed Equiniti debt and roughly $2.35B in Bullish stock.
Equiniti serves nearly 3,000 issuer clients, over 20 million shareholders, and processes $500B in annual payments. The combined entity aims to become the first fully integrated blockchain-enabled issuer services provider.
The pro forma company is expected to generate approximately $1.3B in adjusted total revenue and over $500M in adjusted EBITDA less capex for 2026. It projects 6-8% combined revenue growth from 2027 to 2029, with 20% growth from tokenisation and blockchain services specifically.
Why now? Stablecoins — tokenised US dollars — have grown to over $300B in reported market capitalisation and an estimated $10T in annual payments volume in just a decade. Bullish chief executive officer Tom Farley called tokenisation "a once-in-a-generation shift in how capital markets operate" and "the defining infrastructure trend of the next 25 years."
The deal addresses what Bullish sees as a foundational gap: the absence of a transfer agent built for the blockchain. Equiniti's role as the system of record for thousands of public companies gives Bullish an institutional foothold that would be difficult to build from scratch.
What could go wrong? The transaction is expected to close in January 2027, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. Given the deal spans crypto infrastructure, traditional financial services, and multiple jurisdictions, the regulatory path could prove complex.
The $2.35B stock component also means existing Bullish shareholders face dilution. And the ambitious 20% revenue growth target for tokenisation services depends on institutional adoption that, while accelerating, remains early-stage.
The signal: This deal reflects a broader trend of crypto-native companies acquiring traditional financial infrastructure rather than trying to replace it. Instead of building a parallel system, Bullish is layering blockchain capabilities onto an existing, regulated transfer agent with deep corporate relationships.
It's a bet that the future of capital markets isn't crypto versus traditional finance — it's crypto inside traditional finance. If tokenised securities follow the trajectory of stablecoins, the company that controls the plumbing could capture enormous value.
Read more: globenewswire.com
