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May 5 (Reuters) - Bullish said on Tuesday it will buy transfer agent Equiniti in a deal valued at $4.2 billion, as the cryptocurrency exchange looks to establish infrastructure to bridge blockchain technology with traditional capital markets.
Shares of the Peter Thiel-backed exchange fell about 6% in premarket trading.
The acquisition gives the institutional crypto platform, led by former NYSE President Thomas Farley, access to a regulated transfer agent — a firm that tracks registered shareholders for companies that issue stocks — to underpin its operations.
As capital markets shift toward blockchain-based settlement, the absence of a regulated transfer agent built for the technology has been viewed as a primary hurdle for institutional adoption.
"Tokenization is a once-in-a-generation shift in how capital markets operate," Farley said in a statement, adding that the combination provides the "blue-chip issuer relationships" necessary to scale the transition.
Dealmaking also has seen a rebound in 2026 after a slow start to the year, with geopolitical uncertainty having dampened boardroom appetite for mergers and acquisitions.
The transaction includes about $1.85 billion of assumed debt and roughly $2.35 billion in Bullish stock, the company said.
Bullish said it is buying Equiniti from private-equity firm Siris Capital, which had acquired the company in 2021.
The crypto exchange, which went public in 2025, expects annual revenue growth of 6% to 8% from 2027 to 2029, along with more than $100 million in annual growth in EBITDA less capital expenditure.
Equiniti processes about $500 billion in annual payments and supports over 20 million verified shareholders.
The deal is expected to close in January 2027, subject to regulatory approvals, Bullish added.
(Reporting by Pritam Biswas and Prakhar Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)