Robinhood stock has taken off since the IPO last month.
Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images
Robinhood Markets is making its first acquisition as a public company.
The trading site said Tuesday it agreed to buy all of Say Technologies for about $140 million in cash. Robinhood (ticker: HOOD) announced the deal in a blog post from Aparna Chennapragrada, its chief product officer. It is unclear when the deal is expected to close.
A Robinhood spokeswoman declined to comment. The stock fell about 1% to $56.20 in morning trading after the news emerged.
Say provides a communication platform that aims to help shareholders take part in proxy voting. Using Say’s technology, investors can vote and view documents, ask management questions, and provide feedback.
The New York company has raised $8 million in funding, according to PitchBook. Investors include Point72 Ventures, Steve Cohen’s venture-capital investing arm.
Say has reimagined investor communications, making it easier for millions of people to have a voice in the companies they invest in, Chennapragrada said. “Like Robinhood, Say was built on the belief that everyone should have the same access to the financial markets as Wall Street insiders. We share a common goal of eliminating the barriers that keep people from participating in our financial system,” Chennapragrada said.
“We founded Say to give investors a better way to engage with the companies they own, and to give companies tools to better understand and access their investors,” said Alex Lebow, co-founder and CEO of Say Technologies, in the blog post. “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.”
Robinhood’s business strategy may call for it to make acquisitions or investments in specialized employees or other compatible companies, products or technologies, according to a regulatory filing. The company bought the media company MarketSnacks in 2019 and Binc, a recruiting firm, in March.
Robinhood had a pro forma total of roughly $6.4 billion in cash and cash equivalents on its balance sheet, including the sale of stock during the IPO, as of March 31.
Robinhood’s acquisition of Say comes less than two weeks since the trading app went public on July 30 at $38 a share. The stock fell 8% during its first day, but has rebounded for a gain of nearly 51% from its offer price.
Known for letting young investors buy and sell meme stocks, Robinhood is now considered a meme stock itself. Trading is expected to stay volatile.
One of Say’s customers is AMC Entertainment Holdings (AMC), another meme stock. The theater chain planned to use the technology to let shareholders submit and vote for questions to be answered on its second-quarter earnings call on Monday, AMC said before the call.
Write to Luisa Beltran at [email protected]
