Robinhood acquires investor relations platform Say Technologies in $140m takeover deal
Fresh from its IPO at the end of last month, Robinhood today announced to its new shareholders that it will acquire online retail investor relations platform Say Technologies in a $140m (£101m) all-cash deal.
New York fintech startup Say provides a digital platfrom that aims to enable retail investors to interact with the companies where they are shareholders, for example through earnings calls, where its Q&A platform allows users to ask and “upvote” questions.
“Say was built on the belief that everyone should have the same access to the financial markets as Wall Street insiders,” said Aparna Chennapragrada, Robinhood’s chief product officer.
“We share a common goal of eliminating the barriers that keep people from participating in our financial system.”
Following the acquisition, Say will continue offering its proxy voting services and Q&A platform to its existing customers.
“As part of the Robinhood family, we’ll be able to further our goal of creating a new ecosystem of ownership and engagement to benefit all investors and companies” said Alex Lebow, co-founder & CEO of Say Technologies.
Robinhood’s shares have yo-yo’d since its rocky listing on the Nasdaq, in a pattern that reflects the “meme stocks” like GameStop that were so popular amongst its users through the pandemic.
In an unusual move, Robinhood reserved between 25 and 30 per cent of its IPO shares for retail investors who are users of its app – but only around 300,000 users, or 1.3 per cent – bought shares when it listed on July 29.