CoinShares, European digital asset manager, announced the acquisition of Elwood Technologies’ exchange-traded fund (ETF) index company for $17 million. The deal is anticipated to close in the second week of July.
Elwood was created in 2018 and, in collaboration with asset management firm Invesco, launched the Invesco Elwood Global Blockchain Equity UCITS ETF, which aimed to provide investors with exposure to listed firms that generate revenue through blockchain technology. Since its inception in 2019, the index has collected approximately $1 billion in assets under management.
Elwood established a best-in-class equities research staff focused on businesses in the digital assets area in addition to index development. The equity research unit will join CoinShares to take advantage of the organization’s scale.
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Moreover, the Elwood Index will remain unchanged, and the Invesco Blockchain ETF will be unaffected. It will keep publishing research on cryptocurrencies and blockchain-related firms. CoinShares CEO Jean-Marie Mognetti stated,
As the popularity of thematic ETFs continues to grow, we have seen notable performance dispersion between strategies targeting similar exposures, with investors seeking exposure to cryptocurrencies as well as equities benefiting from blockchain technology, the Elwood Index and Invesco are natural partners for CoinShares.
CoinShares and Invesco’s partnership will help to bridge the gap between traditional asset management and cryptocurrencies, while also increasing both companies’ access to global institutional investors and allocators.
CoinShares reported £17.1 million in asset management revenue from its digital asset ETP business in the first quarter and recently launched bitcoin and ethereum ETFs with 3iQ, as well as a strategic investment in Viridi Funds, a new ESG-focused investment management firm in the United States.
CoinShares will issue 1,298,322 additional ordinary shares for $13.09 per share to complete the transaction through an equity swap. As part of the deal, Elwood’s equities research team will join CoinShares.
Alan Howard, the owner of Elwood, has made a slew of cryptocurrency investments in 2021. Bottlepay, a British crypto payments app, Nextmarkets, a Cologne-based no broker, Bullish Global, a newly founded crypto exchange, and Komainu, a Jersey-regulated crypto custodian backed by Nomura, are among his interests.
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