Israel-based retail trading firm eToro is reportedly spurning the London Stock Exchange in hopes of chasing a US initial public offering (IPO).
According to a new report by The Financial Times, people familiar with the matter say that the crypto-friendly trading platform has made confidential filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) even though its largest market is the United Kingdom.
Confidential filings allow firms to pursue their plans without revealing them to the public until they are ready.
The report also says that eToro is seeking a $5 billion evaluation and could be live in the New York markets as soon as Q2 of this year.
Last year, eToro chief executive and founder Yoni Assia told The Financial Times that being listed in the US instead of in the UK could give the company access to more investors.
“Very few of our global clients would trade UK shares. Something in the US market creates a pool of both deep liquidity and deep awareness for those assets that are trading in the US.”
eToro, which launched in 2007, had tried to go public in 2021 through a $10.4 billion deal with a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) but eventually canceled the plans after the implosion of SPACs.
In 2023, eToro was valued at $3.5 billion after a funding round where the firm raised $250 million from investors such as the Tokyo-based asset management firm SoftBank and market data company Ion Group.
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