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Bankman-Fried said in a regulatory filing he did not have any
intention of taking control of Robinhood. The company's
dual-class shares currently give Robinhood's founders control of
64% of the voting shares outstanding.
A person familiar with the matter said that Bankman-Fried had
not informed Robinhood of any plans to merge it with his FTX
platform.
Bankman-Fried said in the filing that it was possible that his
position may evolve and he could end up pushing for changes. He
disclosed he started building his stake in Robinhood in the
middle of March. According to a filing with the Securities and
Exchange commission, he now owns more than 56 million shares,
which he purchased for more than $648 million.
Shares of Robinhood were up more than 27% in after-hours trading
following the disclosure, as investors cheered Bankman-Fried's
show of confidence in the beaten-up stock. The company has
struggled to meet Wall Street expectations since its IPO last
year.
Robinhood's communication team tweeted that they agree with
Bankman-Fried that the company is "an attractive investment."
"We have the best customer base, are introducing great new
products, and we have the team to deliver. Our journey is just
beginning," the team said.
FTX, which Bankman-Fried co-founded in 2019, was valued at $32
billion in a February funding round, and Bankman-Fried himself
is worth $21 billion, according to Forbes.
Like many tech start-ups, Robinhood has yet to turn a profit,
but even still, its earnings have disappointed investors. The
company reported a 43% decline in first-quarter revenue along
with a decline in monthly active users in April.
(Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York and Hannah Lang in
Washington; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
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