eToro, controlled by brothers Yoni and Ronen Assia, which operates an international platform for trading in investments in shares and digital currencies, announced today the acquisition of Belgium startup Delta for an undisclosed sum. Sources in the sector estimated the deal at $5 million.
Delta's 15 employees, including CEO Nicolas Van Hoorde, will continue working from Belgium, but will now be under the management of Doron Rosenblum, managing director of a crypto-currencies exchange founded last year by eToro. Delta previously worked on a bootstrap format, with no previous financing rounds.
The acquisition of Delta is part of eToro's global expansion in recent years. Last March, eToro launched a crypto-currencies exchange in the US, and the same month also acquired Danish startup Firmo, headed by Dr. Omri Ross, which develops smart secured contracts on blockchain.
eToro, founded by the Assia brothers in 2007, has established a social network for investors, and currently operates a trading platform in 140 countries through which billions of dollars are invested. The company has 800 employees worldwide, including 500 in Israel.
In its announcement, eToro stated, "Delta helps investors made informed decisions about their cryptographic assets through tools such as up-to-date tracking of the investment portfolio, tracking asset prices, and so on. Delta's app makes it possible to track over 6,000 crypto assets from 180 exchanges, and provides over 1.5 million users with tools for analyzing and tracking their investment portfolios."
Following the acquisition, Rosenblum stated, "(Delta has) a fantastic product, which we believe will make a great addition to our crypto offering. We will be exploring how we can continue to diversify Delta, and will integrate with eToroX, so customers can trade from within the app."
Van Hoorde commented, "This acquisition makes sense for Delta, eToro and most importantly our respective users. There are strong synergies between the two companies and we have many shared values, in particular the focus on community and continuous innovation. Both companies have been successful because we've built supportive and engaged communities."
eToro CEO Yoni Assia said, "At a time when other fintechs state that they are not even targeting profitability, we are proud to be a well-funded, profitable business that is growing both in terms of geographical coverage but also product range... We believe in empowering our clients, and the acquisition of Delta will allow us to add an important new element to our offering."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on November 6, 2019
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