Diginex Moves Closer to Backdoor Nasdaq Listing With Merger Approval
Blockchain services firm Diginex is officially merging with publicly traded 8i Enterprises Acquisition Corp., a key part of its plan for a “backdoor” Nasdaq listing.
- Announced Wednesday, 8i shareholders overwhelmingly approved the proposed “business combination transaction” with Hong Kong-based Diginex at a special meeting, with 81% in favor.
- Diginex is the parent company of derivatives platform EQUOS.io which had been hoping to become the U.S.’s first publicly traded crypto exchange later this month.
- It was pipped to the post, though, with Gibraltar-based INX Ltd. recently launching its SEC-registered security token IPO, aiming to raise $117 million.
- Diginex’s ecosystem also includes digital asset trading technology platform Diginex Access and securitization advisory firm Diginex Capital, as well as a digital asset custody provider and an investment management business.
- The company received approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission for the merger with 8i back in February.
- The news marks “significant milestone” in that process, said Diginex’s CEO Richard Byworth, with both parties expecting a close of the transaction later in the month.
- Shareholder approval during unprecedented market conditions was a “testament” to the digital assets industry, Byworth noted.
- Following the deal’s closure, the exchange’s shares are expected to be traded on the New York-based Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker symbol “EQOS.”
- The British Virgin Islands-based “blank check” company 8i is a special-purpose acquisition shell company that uses funds from their initial public offerings (IPOs) to acquire target companies.
