Enterprise blockchain startup R3 is the latest industry firm to hold high-level discussions about taking its business public.
Wall Street-Backed R3 Eyes Public Offering
Citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reports that the New York-based firm has approached advisers holding an initial public offering (IPO). The sources also said that potential buyers have approached the company seeking to purchase it outright.
R3 has raised more than $120 million in funding since its launch in 2014, attracting investments from a variety of high-profile financial companies including Bank of America and Intel. The report was mum on what sort of valuation the firm would hypothetically expect to raise through an IPO or acquisition.
“We’re not surprised about the speculation given the success of Corda, but an IPO is not a path we’re pursuing at this time,” the company was quoted as saying in a statement. “Our mission from the start was to deliver a blockchain solution for the widest possible business community, and any decision we make will have that goal in mind.”
Recently, rumors surfaced that R3 was on the verge of bankruptcy. Financial documents released by the company demonstrated that this was not the case, but they also demonstrated that the firm had missed recent revenue targets by a significant margin.
However, R3 is optimistic that its prospects have turned a corner. Just this week, the company formally launched the enterprise version of its much-touted Corda software, complete with round-the-clock customer support and what the firm has called the “first-ever Blockchain Application Firewall.”
Blockchain Industry Firms Plot Public Offerings
As CCN reported, a variety of cryptocurrency companies have either already filed to go public or are said to have begun laying the groundwork for future IPOs.
Canada-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinsquare, which recently announced an expansion into Asia, said earlier this year that it hopes to raise $120 million through an IPO in September.
The second- and third-largest bitcoin mining hardware manufacturers — Canaan Creative and Ebang Communications, respectively — have filed to go public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX), with each seeking to raise $1 billion or more.
Bitmain — the largest mining manufacturer — recently earned a $12 billion valuation at the conclusion of its recent pre-IPO funding round. The company is reportedly planning to go public on HKEX in September and expects to achieve a market cap between $30 billion and $40 billion.
Featured Image from Shutterstock
Follow us on Telegram or subscribe to our newsletter here.
• Join CCN’s crypto community for $9.99 per month, click here.
• Want exclusive analysis and crypto insights from Hacked.com? Click here.
• Open Positions at CCN: Full Time and Part Time Journalists Wanted.
