Robinhood buys Say Technologies in $140M all-cash deal

abdelaziz Fathi

Popular trading app Robinhood is adding some muscle to its offering, having acquired New York-based investment communications firm Say Technologies for a $140 million all-cash deal.

Say is a fintech business founded nearly three years ago to give investors a better way to engage with the companies they own, and to give corporate managers tools to better understand their investors. The startup offers retail investors a communication platform to address their questions to the management of public companies they invest in. Shareholders can submit and vote for questions to be asked on annual meetings, earnings calls and other events.

“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. 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.

As part of the Robinhood family, Say will keep offering its proxy voting services and Q&A platform to existing customers.

“By joining forces with Robinhood, we’ll keep serving our existing customers, while continuing to build a new ecosystem of ownership and engagement to benefit all investors and companies,” the company added.

Following the news, shares of Robinhood dropped 4 percent but the volatile stock still up more than 50% in its second week of trading.

Robinhood, which started its NASDAQ listing earlier this month under the ticker HOOD, had a meme-stock moment last week after news suggested that existing shareholders will sell up to 98 million shares over time. The surprising share sale announcement knocked the stock down by 30%, but it recouped losses after Robinhood clarified that these sales would not start right away.

Robinhood was one of the most anticipated IPOs of the year even as the upstart brokerage firm faces regulatory scrutiny on multiple fronts. Most recently, its co-founders, Vladimir Tenev and Baiju Bhatt, faced probes as they are not licensed by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

The discount brokerage said in July that the probe is at an advanced stage and could result in fines, penalties and monetary settlements, as well as additional compliance requirements or other consequences.

The news was the latest headache for Robinhood. The free-commission brokerage was also sued by the family of a 20-year-old student, who committed suicide last year thinking he incurred losses of over $700,000 on his Robinhood account.

Read this next

Digital Assets

US, UK probe $20 billion Tether transfers tied to Russian exchange.

U.S. and UK authorities are investigating the movement of $20 billion in the USD-pegged stablecoin tether (USDT) through Moscow-based exchange Garantex.

Digital Assets

BlockDAG Presale Raises $9.9M as Batch 5 Nears Sell-Out Amid Bonk’s Fluctuating Trading Volume & Spell’s Bullish Price

Explore BONK’s trading volume, SPELL’s market shifts, and why BlockDAG’s 10,000 ROI makes it an ideal crypto for savvy investors in 2024.

Digital Assets

Bybit expands into Europe amid regulatory scrutiny

Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange Bybit is expanding its operations in Europe after encountering regulatory challenges in Hong Kong.

Digital Assets

Cathie Wood’s sponsored Bitcoin ETF sees historic $200 million inflows

The ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB), co-sponsored by Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest, registered historic inflows exceeding $200 million on Wednesday, signaling a robust appetite among investors for Bitcoin-centric investments.

Digital Assets

Sam Bankman-Fried might see his 25-year sentence halved

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison by a Manhattan court on Thursday. This comes after he was convicted of defrauding customers and investors, with Judge Lewis Kaplan highlighting the potential future risks posed by Bankman-Fried.

Technical Analysis

EURJPY Technical Analysis Report 28 March, 2024

EURJPY currency pair under the bearish pressure after the pair reversed down from the major resistance level 164.25, which also stopped the sharp weekly uptrend at the end of last year,

Digital Assets

BlockDAG’s Presale Hits $9.9M, MultiversX & MINA Price Predictions Show Green

Read about BlockDAG’s promising $10 prediction and insights on MultiversX Price Prediction as MINA’s potential unfolds.

Digital Assets

Rockstar Co-Founder and All-star Line Up Join Advisory Board to Take Metacade into Post Beta Orbit

Metacade, the revolutionary Web3 gaming platform, prepares to streak out of beta with a slew of ground-breaking initiatives that will redefine the way blockchain games are developed.

Retail FX

Prop firm The Funded Trader shuts down, claims relaunch in April

Prop trading firm The Funded Trader has ceased all operations, with claims for a relaunch in the near future.

<