Crypto exchange FTX is considering the possibility to acquire the American retail trading platform, Robinhood (Nasdaq: HOOD), according to a Bloomberg report. It cited anonymous sources as there is no official announcement about the deal yet.
It came a month after FTX’s Founder and CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried bought a 7.6 percent stake in the commission-free broker. Then, Bankman-Fried confirmed that he had no intention of taking over the control of the online brokerage.
Though Robinhood has not received any formal takeover approach from FTX, the crypto exchange is said to be deliberating internally on the possibilities of the deal. However, a financial decision on the deal is yet to be made.
“We are excited about Robinhood’s business prospects and potential ways we could partner with them,” Bankman-Fried said in a statement sent to media houses. “That being said, there are no active M&A conversations with Robinhood.”
A Lifeline for Robinhood?
Robinhood disrupted the retail stock trading industry with its commission-free model. Its business soared during the pandemic when demand for retail trading skyrocketed. In addition, it became a prominent crypto trading platform in the US for trading some meme tokens.
However, it has been struggling with the falling revenue and declining users in the past few quarters. Active monthly traders on the platform declined to 15.9 million, which is down from 17.7 million a year ago, in the first quarter of 2022. Moreover, its revenue shrank by 43 percent to $299 million.
The possibilities of Robinhood's acquisition brought enthusiasm among stock traders. The public stock price of the retail stock trading platform closed 14 percent higher on Monday. However, HOOD's stock price is still down 50 percent from the beginning of 2022 and more than 83 percent from its all-time peak.
A recent US House Committee report revealed that Robinhood faced extreme liquidity difficulties during the GameStop rally in early 2021.
