Ashurst lands role on blockbuster eToro IPO

Skadden, Latham & Watkins and Ashurst have advised on eToro’s New York IPO, with the trading platform raising $620 million and closing its first day of trading with a $5.4 billion valuation - making it one of the year’s biggest fintech IPOs.

Founded in Israel and best known for its retail trading platform, eToro listed on the Nasdaq on Wednesday (14 May) under the ticker “ETOR”.

The company first announced plans to go public via a SPAC merger in 2021, in a deal that would have valued it at over $10 billion, but the transaction was scrapped in 2022 as market conditions deteriorated following the post-pandemic boom.

Despite generating most of its revenue in Europe, eToro ultimately chose New York over London - a move that came after months of speculation with the company reportedly undecided until as recently as December. At the time, the company’s UK boss hinted to City AM that the depth of the US’ capital markets would ultimately play a key role in the final decision.

Advising

Ashurst advised eToro on certain regulatory aspects, with a London-based team led by global head of financial regulatory Jake Green, supported by associates Jack Collins, Tiegan Cormie and Penny Chamberlain.

Green said: "We are thrilled to be a trusted advisor to the eToro Group. This is just another step in their incredible journey that we are delighted to be a part of."

Skadden acted as lead counsel to eToro, while Latham represented the underwriters - including Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, UBS and Citigroup. Latham fielded a multi-office team led by partners Marc Jaffe (New York), Joshua Kiernan (London) and Gilad Zohari (Tel Aviv).