Robinhood scoops up investor communications platform Say Technologies

Trading and investment platform Robinhood has made its first acquisition after its debut on the NASDAQ just shy of two weeks ago.

The fintech has bought investor communication platform Say Technologies for approximately $140m in an all-cash deal.

Say Technologies makes it easier for investors to exercise their ownership rights, making it easier for people to have a say in the companies they invest in.

In a blog post announcing the acquisition, Aparna Chennapragrada Robinhood’s chief product officer, wrote: “Like Robinhood, Say was built on the belief that everyone should have the same access to the financial markets as Wall Street insiders.”

“We share a common goal of eliminating the barriers that keep people from participating in our financial system.”

Say’s proxy voting services and Q&A platform allows everyday shareholders to participate in events like earnings, by both asking and upvoting questions.

“We founded Say to give investors a better way to engage with the companies they own, and to give companies tools to better understand and access their investors,” Alex Lebow, co-founder and CEO of Say Technologies, added.

“As part of the Robinhood family, we’ll be able to further our goal of creating a new ecosystem of ownership and engagement to benefit all investors and companies.” 

Under the terms of the takeover, all of Say’s existing customers will still have access to its proxy voting and Q&A services, with Robinhood’s customers joining the millions already using Say Technologies.

Following a fairly lacklustre debut that saw Robinhood’s shares fall by ten per cent on the first day of trading, the fintech’s shares seem to be holding steady at around $54 per share.

Late last week, shares in Robinhood topped $85 as its famed ‘meme stock’ traders began to pile in, with the stock being briefly labelled a ‘stonk’ thanks to the volatility.