Bullish To Buy Equiniti In $4.2bn Deal To Build Tokenized Securities Platform

Bullish has agreed to acquire shareholder services provider Equiniti from private equity firm Siris Capital in a $4.2bn transaction, marking one of the largest deals to date linking crypto infrastructure with traditional capital markets.

The agreement includes approximately $1.85bn of assumed debt and around $2.35bn in Bullish stock, priced using a 30-day volume-weighted average share price of $38.48, and is expected to close in January 2027, subject to regulatory approvals.

Equiniti provides registry, payments, and shareholder administration services to roughly 3,000 corporate clients globally, supporting more than 20 million shareholders and processing over $500bn in annual payments.

Bullish said the acquisition would combine Equiniti’s established shareholder recordkeeping business with Bullish’s digital asset exchange and blockchain infrastructure.

The deal reflects a broader push by crypto-native firms to place themselves at the centre of tokenized finance, as asset managers and exchanges explore blockchain-based issuance, settlement, and trading of traditional securities.

Tom Farley, CEO of Bullish, positioned tokenization as “the defining infrastructure trend of the next 25 years”.

"Broad adoption at institutional scale requires three things: end-to-end tokenization services, a single, unified ledger, and a broad base of blue-chip issuer relationships, at scale. This combination delivers all three,” he added.

The combined business is expected to generate approximately $1.3bn in adjusted revenue in 2026 and more than $500m in adjusted EBITDA less capital expenditure, according to company projections. Bullish also forecasts annual revenue growth of 6% to 8% between 2027 and 2029, with blockchain and tokenization services projected to expand by roughly 20%.

Siris Capital acquired Equiniti in 2021 for £661m before separating and expanding parts of the business through a series of strategic transactions.