US-based financial infrastructure company Pico is set to go public through a $1.75 billion merger with fintech entrepreneur Betsy Cohen's special-purpose acquisition company (Spac).
Founded in 2009, Pico provides services including trading cloud infrastructure hosting to financial market participants, including 24 of the top 25 banks, 36 exchanges, and a host of hedge funds and electronic trading firms.
It will list on the Nasdaq following its merger with FTAC Athena Acquisition Corp, which will result in proceeds of $450 million, supported by a private investment in public equity round of $200 million.
Jarrod Yuster, co-CEO, Pico, says: "I look forward to the additional opportunities afforded to Pico in the public markets, including access to capital for strategic acquisitions and enhancing our visibility with clients and the marketplace."
Betsy Cohen, chairman of the board, FTAC Athena, adds: “Pico is at the frontier of modernizing the financial ecosystem by providing global connectivity and market insight solutions for its customers and we look forward to working together in order to build long-term value for our stockholders.”
Cohen has emerged as one of the biggest players in the fintech Spac era, inking deals with payments firm Payoneer and stock trading player eToro.