TZero, a blockchain technology spinoff from US-based e-commerce company Overstock, is set to receive up to $270m in funding from private equity firm GSR Capital, Forbes reported on Sunday.
GSR will acquire an 18% stake in TZero and will pay up to approximately $104.5m more to acquire 3.1 million shares in publicly-listed Overstock, equating to a 10% stake. It will also buy $30m of tokens in TZero’s initial coin offering, bringing that sale’s total to $134m.
Three additional investors based in Asia and the Middle East are expected to join the round. The transactions are all expected to close by December 15 this year and will value TZero at $1.5bn.
Founded in 2015, TZero is developing a platform that facilitates real-time, transparent securities lending using blockchain technology. It will also cover real estate offerings, the private issuance of blockchain-based security tokens and their trading on a secondary market.
The latest investment will be used to launch the platform in the US and internationally. TZero has so far focused on obtaining the necessary licences from US regulator the Securities Exchange Commission.
TZero purchased broker-dealer services provider SpeedRoute and alternative trading system Pro Securities in 2015 and bought a 24% stake in custodian and clearing services provider StockCross Financial Services earlier this year. It is seeking a retail broker-dealer to acquire.