On Tuesday, Citadel Securities said that Sequoia Capital and Paradigm, a crypto-focused investment firm, had made a $1.15 billion minority investment in the market maker founded by billionaire Ken Griffin, valuing it at over $22 billion.
Sequoia Capital led the investment round. According to Citadel Securities, Alfred Lin, a partner at Sequoia Capital, will join the board of directors.
Asset managers, banks, broker-dealers, and hedge funds use the company’s two-decade-old trading services. Over 1,600 clients are served by its institutional division.
Since the pandemic began, the Chicago-based firm has seen a boom in trading activity, aided in part by individual investors flocking to popular mobile trading apps.
After Robinhood Markets Inc and many other brokers halted trading in shares of GameStop Corp in January last year, Citadel Securities was scrutinized by US lawmakers and regulators.
The limits, which enraged some ordinary investors, came after a remarkable rally that triggered a “short squeeze,” causing Wall Street hedge funds to lose billions of dollars.
Citadel, a $43 billion hedge fund, had taken a $2 billion investment in Melvin Capital at the time after the latter had incurred enormous losses after being short on GameStop since 2014.
Citadel Securities has denied having any part in the brokers’ decision.
The company operates in more than 50 countries and intends to use the new funds to grow globally.
