Investing.com seeks big buys on path to IPO, chairman says

Investing.com, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based financial markets platform for retail investors, is eyeing sizable acquisitions in the runup to an eventual IPO, said Chairman Ding’An Fei.

Founded in 2007, Investing.com was acquired by Joffre Capital in 2021. The company has about 250 employees.

Fei would not provide a figure but said Investing.corn’s revenue is between $100m and $300m. The company is profitable, but he declined to disclose its EBITDA.

Being a public company would be helpful for its branding and credibility, especially among U.S. consumers, he said, adding that it prefers to list on an American stock exchange.

While the company is a well-known financial markets platform in Europe and other regions, it is much smaller than its competitors in the U.S.

Investing.com offers financial news and real-time data with quotes, charts, tools, breaking news, and analytics services, according to the company. In 2021, it launched lnvestingPro, which has prices that start at $19.99 per month for retail investors.

The company is looking for a big-ticket acquisition within the next 24 months, Fei said. The target should have at least $100m in revenue. It is particularly interested in unique processes for portfolio management, market data analysis, performance charting, education and trade execution said Fei.

It will also look for smaller acquisitions of tech-enabled services he said. Geography is not a factor he noted.

Investing.com has a strong balance sheet thanks to its backing by Joffre Capital, which has dry powder to deploy, said the executive, who is also a founding partner of Joffre.

Valuations have cooled recently, he said. “We’re 12 months past the biggest bubble ever, so swallowing some valuations were hard,” he said. “But the market is rationalizing and there are many things on the wish list.”

In March, Investing.com acquired Streetlnsider.com, a Birmingham, Michigan-based stock market news and analysis service provider. The acquisition was sub $100m in deal value, Fei confirmed. In 2021, it acquired Finbox, a portfolio management and research platform.

Investing.com has 80 million registered users and is offered in more than 44 languages and 200 markets, according to the executive. About 30% of its business is in Europe while about 25% is in the APAC region. About 25% of revenue is from the U.S. he said.

Fei said the company has “been pitched for an IPO many times over the last three years”.

It remains in contact with bankers to gauge its M&A opportunities and “other activities” but it is too early for any IPO preparations, he said.

Joffre Capital’s typical hold time is around five years, he noted.

“In three years from now, we hope (Investing.com) will be the largest global destination for retail investors” he said. “A big part of our mission statement is to level the playing field for retail investors and be their Bloomberg – from media to data to execution.”

As another comp, the executive pointed to online brokerage firm E-Trade, which was acquired by Morgan Stanley in 2020 in an all-stock transaction valued at around  $13bn.

By Dayna Fields in New York. This article appeared first on Mergermarket

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