Peter Thiel-backed bullish transfer agent Equity signs $4.2 billion deal
Bullish, the institutional-grade digital asset exchange backed by Peter Thiel, is to buy Equinity, a global transfer agent and official record keeper for nearly 3,000 companies, in a deal valued at $4.2 billion.
The transaction consists of $1.85 billion in debt and $2.35 billion in bullish equity, and is forecast to generate around $1.3 billion in revenue and over $500 million in EBITDA (excluding capex) by 2026, with 6–8% growth and in addition to tokenization services.
Accelerating the transition to blockchain-era capital markets, the deal aims to address the lack of a transfer agent designed for this ecosystem, which Bullish identified as a critical gap.
“Tokenization is a once-in-a-generation change in how capital markets operate and will be an infrastructure trend for the next 25 years,” said Tom Farley, CEO of Bullish. “Wide adoption at the institutional level requires three things: an end-to-end token service, a single, unified ledger and a broad scale of blue-chip issuer connections.
The move will establish the world's first fully integrated global transfer agent for tokenized securities, Bullish said. It combines the enterprise's end-to-end blockchain infrastructure with Equini's scalable services platform.
The platform aims to modernize capital markets by enabling real-time ownership tracking, faster settlement and broader investor access to tokenized securities, and can work with existing systems and regulatory frameworks, Bullish said.
The deal is expected to close in January 2027, pending regulatory approval and customary conditions.
Equinity is involved in global capital markets, serving clients who depend on reliable infrastructure. The CEO of Equinity said the company's mission is to help clients grow their business by combining efficiency and experience with technology, and the agreement reinforces this effort by maintaining trust and service standards.
Siris acquired Equinity in 2021 to expand into transfer agency services through divestitures and targeted acquisitions. He later merged Equinity with US-based AST to form a larger global platform, making operational improvements, leadership changes and efficiency gains to significantly increase profitability before selling to Bullish.
The bullish market rose 3.5% on Monday. The stock reversed some of those gains before Tuesday's pre-market session at Yahoo Finance.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Vivian Nguyen. See our Editorial Policy for more information on how we create and review content.
