MoonPay targets $8.7 billion trading venue as terms remain unrevealed

MoonPay signed a definitive agreement to buy North Capital Investment Technology. MoonPay is targeting a trading venue valued at $8.7 billion. The agreement would bring the existing private-securities trading venue into MoonPay's group if it closes. The companies announced the agreement on Sept. 23. Both boards approved the deal. Regulatory approvals remain outstanding. Other customary closing conditions also apply. The companies did not disclose the purchase price. The companies did not provide a firm closing date. The transaction may not close. The companies have not said when it would close. North Capital provides technology and regulated services for private-securities issuers, professional intermediaries, fund managers, and investors. Its business includes investor onboarding, transaction processing, custody, and secondary trading. North Capital Private Securities Corporation is a registered broker-dealer. The company announcement says the subsidiary operates PPEX, an alternative trading system for eligible securities outside traditional stock exchanges. The SEC's June 30 ATS list named North Capital Private Securities Corporation and PPEX before the proposed acquisition. The deal would add a securities venue and brokerage business to MoonPay's infrastructure for moving money between conventional and digital assets. North Capital also has an investment-advisory business. The companies have not described a MoonPay customer-facing securities product. MoonPay customers currently have no announced access to private-securities trading through the deal. The companies have not announced which securities could be offered. They have not announced which entity would provide the service. They have not announced who would be eligible or when access could begin. North Capital would become a wholly owned MoonPay subsidiary after completion. PPEX provides infrastructure for secondary trading in private and other exempt securities, including tokenized securities. Customer access remains a prospective step with no announced terms.