Trading and Wealth Management technology provider Openmarkets Group Pty Ltd ("Openmarkets"), has entered into a plan of merger and business combination agreement ("BCA") with Lake Superior Acquisition Corp. ("Lake Superior"), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company. Upon completion, the transaction contemplated under the BCA will result in the newly combined Openmarkets Group becoming a Nasdaq-listed company.

The transaction is expected to be completed in 2026 and is subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals and customary closing conditions. The terms of the transaction represent an estimated enterprise value of Openmarkets of USD$300 million (not including the earn-out shares issuable pursuant to the BCA).

The transaction coincides with the launch of Openmarkets' strategy to expand into decentralised finance ("DeFi") through cryptocurrency trading and Real-World Assets ("RWAs") tokenisation, as well as offering its technology and services internationally.

Openmarkets' digital assets strategy will initially focus on offering secure and compliant fractionalisation of real-world assets such as funds, real estate, private equity and private credit, as well as integrating of cryptocurrency trading into its existing trading technology platform. To enable a DeFi offering, Openmarkets has commenced building a unique ecosystem of local and global partnerships and reviewing its regulatory authorisations.

Dan Jowett, CEO of Openmarkets Group, says the transaction will enable Openmarkets to accelerate its growth plans.

"This transaction will provide a myriad of benefits to Openmarkets as we pursue our open finance strategy, opening up new sources of capital and onboarding new, strategically-aligned investors whilst giving Openmarkets a US market presence."

"Tomorrow's capital markets will be defined by the convergence of traditional and decentralised finance, and there's enormous commercial potential for trusted fintechs to invest in compliant and secure infrastructure solutions that bring tokenised assets into our traditional financial system. Openmarkets is ready to deliver on this opportunity."

Says Edward Cong Wang, CEO and Chairman of Lake Superior Acquisition Corp, "The combination with Openmarkets is the culmination of an exhaustive search for a market leader poised for explosive global growth. Through this transaction, we are providing the public market platform necessary for them to accelerate their expansion into new geographies and further their ambition to build the future of open finance through DeFi.".

Lake Superior Acquisition Corp is a Nasdaq-listed special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), incorporated for the purpose of effecting a merger or business combination with one or more businesses. As part of the transaction, Openmarkets Group will retain its current management team and business structure.