TLDR
- Bullish (BLSH) agreed to acquire transfer agent Equiniti for $4.2 billion in an all-stock deal
- BLSH stock surged 17% to $47.65 following the announcement
- Equiniti serves ~3,000 publicly traded companies, processing $500 billion in annual payments
- The combined entity will offer full tokenization services including 24/7 securities trading and stablecoin payments
- The deal is expected to close in January 2027, pending regulatory approval
Bullish (BLSH) announced Tuesday it will acquire Equiniti from private-equity firm Siris Capital in a deal valued at $4.2 billion, including debt. The transaction is structured as an all-stock deal, comprising roughly $2.35 billion in Bullish stock and approximately $1.85 billion of assumed debt.
BREAKING: Bullish agrees to acquire Equiniti for $4.2B, including debt, to tokenize stocks and other securities.
Equiniti, one of the world’s largest transfer agents, maintains the official shareholder ledger for ~3,000 public companies.
That means a crypto exchange now owns… pic.twitter.com/iUgJ3z4bob
— Coin Bureau (@coinbureau) May 5, 2026
BLSH stock jumped 17% to $47.65 on Tuesday following the news.
The crypto exchange, led by former NYSE President Tom Farley, went public on the NYSE in August 2025 at $90 per share. Despite the Tuesday pop, the stock remains down 46% from that opening price.
Equiniti is a well-established transfer agent, maintaining financial records and facilitating key transactions for publicly traded companies. Its client list includes Berkshire Hathaway, Moody’s, and Rolls-Royce.
The company supports over 20 million verified shareholders and processes around $500 billion in annual payments. It currently serves approximately 3,000 publicly traded companies globally.
Bullish said the deal gives it something every listed company needs: a regulated transfer agent. That piece of infrastructure has been seen as a key missing link for institutional adoption of blockchain-based capital markets.
Why the Deal Matters to Bullish
The combined company will offer end-to-end tokenization services. That includes around-the-clock securities trading, stablecoin-based payments using a tokenized U.S. dollar, and instant settlement solutions.
“Tokenization is a once-in-a-generation shift in how capital markets operate,” Farley said in a statement.
He added that scaling institutional adoption requires end-to-end tokenization, a unified ledger, and established issuer relationships. “This combination delivers all three,” Farley said.
Bullish was launched in November 2021 and primarily works with institutional investors. The company also owns crypto media outlet CoinDesk.
Financials and Timeline
Bullish projects annual revenue growth of 6% to 8% from 2027 to 2029 following the deal’s close. It also expects more than $100 million in annual growth in EBITDA less capital expenditures.
The deal is expected to close in January 2027, subject to regulatory approvals. Siris Capital had originally acquired Equiniti back in 2021.
Both the NYSE and Nasdaq have been moving ahead with their own tokenized platform plans, allowing stocks and other securities to be traded 24/7 with instant settlement.
Bullish’s acquisition of Equiniti positions the company as a potential global transfer agent for tokenized securities as that infrastructure continues to develop.
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