Most cryptocurrencies weren't drifting high into orbit on Thursday, but the journey was different for crypto exchange operator Gemini Space Station (GEMI +1.20%). On a media report of a possible takeover play (or plays), investors eagerly snapped up the company's shares to lift them to a daily gain of almost 9%.
Some of the parts
That morning, Bullish's crypto news and analysis site CoinDesk reported that would-be buyers were mulling acquisitions of certain parts of Gemini's business.
Image source: Getty Images.
Citing an unidentified "person with direct knowledge of the matter," CoinDesk wrote that these entities, which were unnamed, were focused on Gemini's recently closed operations on continental Europe and in the U.K. The primary impetus for some is to obtain the regulatory licenses granted to those units.
In February, Gemini announced it was reducing its worldwide workforce by 25%. This included shuttering its operations in the U.K., the European Union (EU), and Australia. The goal was to narrow the company's business to its native U.S. and Singapore.
According to the article's source, the acquirers are more interested in these "pieces" than in acquiring Gemini as a whole.
Gemini management has not yet officially commented on the story.
NASDAQ: GEMI
Key Data Points
Reduced footprint
There are plenty of offbeat companies in the cryptosphere, and Gemini has always been an outlier within that world.
It aims not only to be a brokerage but also a business offering a suite of related services such as custody and a payments system. Yet it's lately been figuring out ways to shrink, not grow, its operations, so those overseas units are unlikely to sell at premium prices. I would curb my enthusiasm on the CoinDesk report if I were a shareholder.
