Robinhood to buy Say Technologies for $140 million in cash

Robinhood Markets Inc (NASDAQ: HOOD) made headlines again on Tuesday as it announced plans of acquiring Say Technologies for $140 million in cash. The communique comes only weeks after Robinhood’s debut on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange.

Why does Robinhood want to buy Say Technologies?

Headquartered in New York, Say Technologies was founded in 2017 as a communication platform that bridges the gap between retail investors and companies they invest in. Notable names like Tesla, AMC, and Coinbase have used Say’s offerings to let individual investors interact with them during earnings calls and annual meetings.

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Proxy-voting and polling are a few of the other services that Say Technologies offers to the shareholders.

“Say was built on the belief that everyone should have the same access to the financial markets as Wall Street insiders,” Robinhood said in a blog post.

Evidently, Say’s values are in line with Robinhood’s that has gained immense popularity among retail investors this year with its “democratising finance” objective.

“Say will keep its name and continue to offer its Q&A platform and proxy-voting services to retail investors. Together, we’ll find new ways to expand what it means to be an investor through new products and experiences that democratise shareholder access,” Robinhood added.

The deal is subject to regulatory approval

Robinhood was coined “disruptor” in May when it launched a new platform for retail investors that allowed them to participate in IPOs. Shares of the American fintech company are a little under 5% down on the intraday chart today.

According to Pitchbook, Say Technologies was last valued at $28 million. So, Robinhood is buying the fintech company at five times where it was last valued. The deal, which marks Robinhood’s third acquisition after Snacks and Binc, is subject to regulatory approval.