A new financial services deal is coming quietly down the initial public offering (IPO) pipeline.
Apex Fintech Solutions, a provider of custody and clearing services, has confidentially filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a public launch. Apex did not reveal the number of shares it wants to sell or the proposed price range.
This is the Dallas-based clearing house’s second swing at the IPO ball. In 2021, the firm attempted to combine with blank-check firm Northern Star Investment Corp II in a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) launch valued at nearly $5 billion, but the deal fell through.
Apex claims to have over $115 billion in assets under custody, serving over 21 million brokerage accounts through roughly 220 corporate clients. Some of its more prominent customers include eToro, Betterment, SoFi, and Ally Financial. It was also the clearing partner of choice for the fee-free trading app Robinhood before it began doing clearing in-house. Apex provides support to these user-facing clients to facilitate account setups, deposits, withdrawals, transfers, and other actions.
Clearing houses perform vital functions in the financial system. By settling accounts between buyers and sellers, they turn the cogs that keep markets ticking along.
According to a recent Mordor Intelligence report, the United States Clearing Houses and Settlements Market was worth over $450 billion in 2023. It is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over five percent between now and 2028.
The low-key filing follows hot on the heels of another clearing house listing. This month Marex, a British-based commodities broker and clearance house, also confidentially filed to list in the U.S. Like Apex, Marex is stepping up to the plate for a second time.
It had planned to list in London in 2021 but pulled the plug before floating its stock on the exchange. Its valuation target at the time had been less than a billion, yet now it is rumored to set its sights on a $2.5 billion valuation through its new listing in New York.
Although based in the U.K., almost 40 percent of Marex’s revenue came from the U.S. last year, and America’s share of its business is expected to grow further. It is among the top 10 futures dealers in the country.
Internet mega-forum Reddit is considering going public as soon as the first quarter of the new year. The company is one of many that put their IPO on pause after the Federal Reserve began its current round of monetary tightening.
Investment banks are keenly awaiting a rebound in 2024, hoping the deal’s dry spell may be at its end. Although recent deals like Birkenstock, Arm, and Instacart had wobbly starts after floating, improving investor sentiment may set the stage for the new year, especially now the bulls have the momentum and equities are surging up to finish the year on a high.
Investors can uncover further details in Apex’s impending S-1 form when the company openly registers for its IPO.
This article was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.
