Social investment network eToro announced on Wednesday that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire options trading platform Gatsby for $50 million.
Gatsby is a commission-free options and stock trading app
focused on a younger demographic. It was created by Co-CEOs and Co-founders
Jeff Myers and Ryan Belanger-Saleh in 2018 and the team that will become part
of eToro includes Davis Gaynes (President and Co-founder), Peter Quinn (Chief
Operating Officer and Co-founder), Jeffrey Kleiss (Chief Technology Officer),
Matt Morris (Head of Product), and others.
eToro said that this acquisition is a key step in its
ongoing diversification of its offering to U.S. users, which is currently
focused on crypto and stocks. Gatsby’s integration will support eToro’s goal of
providing multi-asset investment tools to U.S. users as it continues to grow
its social investing network through education and innovation
“We’ve seen a seismic shift in the balance of power away
from traditional finance institutions towards the retail investor. The internet
has democratized financial information and a sea change has taken place,
empowering more everyday investors - particularly Gen Z and Millennials - to
trade and invest,” said Yoni Assia, eToro CEO and Co-Founder.
“These retail investors are looking for opportunities to
generate returns in today’s bear market. Against this backdrop, we are
incredibly excited to welcome the Gatsby team to the eToro family.
We have a shared mission of empowering investors through
simple, transparent investing tools. Scaling our U.S. business is a strategic
focus for eToro and through Gatsby we can provide U.S. users with access to a
safe and simple way to trade options, which we know are particularly attractive
in challenging markets.”
eToro laid off 100 employees last month which represented
around 6% of the company’s total workforce. At the same time as announcing the
cuts, eToro also officially announced that it mutually agreed with the Betsy
Cohen-backed blank-check company FinTech Acquisition Corp to terminate their
SPAC merger deal more than a year after it was announced.
The companies announced back in March of 2021 that they had
agreed to merge at a company valuation of $10.3 billion. However, the deal was
bogged down by a protracted prospectus and regulatory process.