Crypto exchange Bullish has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Equiniti from Siris in a transaction valued at $4.2bn.
Equiniti is a global transfer agent serving nearly 3,000 issuer clients, around 15,000 corporate clients and more than 20 million shareholders. The company processes about $500bn in annual payments.
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The deal includes $1.85bn of assumed Equiniti debt and about $2.35bn in Bullish stock consideration, subject to customary purchase price adjustments.
The transaction also includes a call option for Siris to acquire non-core Equiniti business lines. The financials of those business lines were excluded from the transaction disclosures.
Siris is expected to receive two board seats as part of the deal.
In a statement, Bullish said the combination will create a “global transfer agent” for tokenised securities and position Bullish to “lead the shift” toward blockchain-native capital markets infrastructure.
Bullish CEO Tom Farley said: “Tokenisation is a once-in-a-generation shift in how capital markets operate, the defining infrastructure trend of the next 25 years.
“Broad adoption at institutional scale requires three things: end-to-end tokenisation services, a single, unified ledger, and a broad base of blue-chip issuer relationships, at scale. This combination delivers all three and I believe it uniquely positions us to lead the transition to tokenised securities.”
The transaction is expected to close in January 2027, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
After closing, Equiniti will operate under Bullish alongside Bullish Exchange and CoinDesk. Equiniti CEO Dan Kramer and the existing leadership team will continue to oversee day-to-day operations, regulatory obligations and client relationships.
Bullish said the combined platform is designed to interoperate with existing market infrastructure, including central securities depositories such as DTCC, Euroclear and Clearstream, as well as custodians and broker-dealers.
Peter Thiel-backed Bullish added that the pro forma combined company is expected to generate around $1.3bn in adjusted total revenue and approximately $500m in adjusted EBITDA less capex for 2026E.
