Newly public online broker Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD) has announced that it has acquired shareholder communication tech specialist Say Technologies for $140 million in cash.
Say bills itself as the new standard for public companies who want to connect with their retail shareholder community. Brokers that work with Say can automatically invite their customers to participate. Say is a mission-driven company that’s built an innovative communication platform that makes it easier for investors to exercise their ownership rights.
Robinhood stated that one of its core values is Participation is Power, believing that there’s room for everyone in the financial markets with the company working to help first-time investors become long-term investors.
Like Robinhood, Say was built on the belief that everyone should have the same access to the financial markets as Wall Street insiders. The companies share a common goal of eliminating the barriers that keep people from participating in our financial system. Say has reimagined investor communications from the ground up, and their products have made it easier for millions of people to have a voice in the companies they invest in. Say’s proxy processing technology helps broker-dealers give their customers seamless access to their vote, and its Q&A platform lets everyday shareholders participate in events like earnings by asking and upvoting questions.
As part of the Robinhood family, Say will keep offering its proxy voting services and Q&A platform to existing customers. And together, the parties said that they will find new ways to expand what it means to be an investor through new products and experiences that democratize shareholder access.
Alex Lebow, Co-Founder & CEO of Say Technologies said:
“We founded Say to give investors a better way to engage with the companies they own, and to give companies tools to better understand and access their investors. As part of the Robinhood family, we’ll be able to further our goal of creating a new ecosystem of ownership and engagement to benefit all investors and companies.”