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IG Group Holdings PLC on Friday said it has bought Australian cryptocurrency exchange Independent Reserve for an initial A$178.0 million, or £86.8 million. The London-based online trading platform operator suggested the deal ‘closes a key product gap in a priority region’ and will support its entry into the Asia-Pacific cryptocurrency market. According to IG, its offer is around 5.0x Independent Reserve’s revenue in the year ended June 30, which rose 88% to A$35.3 million. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation totalled A$9.9 million. The Sydney-based company has operating permissions in Australia and Singapore for multi-currency trading in 34 digital assets. IG expects to deal to provide ‘immediate access to these markets’ and the option to expand further in the APAC and Middle East regions. Indepedent Reserve’s management and staff are expected to stay with the company, holding a collective 30% shareholding at completion, IG noted. ‘Following completion, the group will retain Independent Reserve’s brand and integrate its product into IG’s trading platforms, initially in Australia and Singapore.’ IG will buy an initial 70% of the company for A$109.6m, excluding an expected share of acquired surplus cash of A$8.4 million. An additional A$15.0m payment is conditional on financial 2026 performance, bringing the total for 70% ownership to A$124.6 million. It has a call option to purchase the remaining 30% stake based on performance in financial 2027 and 2028. This is capped at an enterprise value of A$160.5 million, such that the total payment for 100% of Independent Reserve will not exceed A$285.1 million, IG said. IG’s prediction is for the purchase to be cash earnings per share accretive in financial 2027, with a return on invested capital above IG’S weighted average cost of capital between financial 2029 and 2030. The deal is expected to close in early 2026, subject to regulator approval in Australia and Singapore. It follows the UK launch of IG’s spot cryptocurrency trading service in May and its US rollout. IG shares were down 2.1% at 1,082.50 pence on Friday morning in London. The FTSE-250 constituent has gained 18% in the last 12 months. Separately on Friday, IG revised definitions of active customers and first trades, whilst adding funded customers as a new performance indicator. The reporting policy shift will be effective from the first quarter of 2026, for which a trading update is due on September 25. IG republished results from previous quarters based on the change, which meant reallocating trading revenue across different categories. The firm maintained the revision had ‘no impact on group revenue or total revenue.’ Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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