BlackBull
Markets, an Auckland-based retail trading and CFD platform, is exploring a
simultaneous listing on the Australian Securities Exchange and the New Zealand
Stock Exchange, after appointing Barrenjoey Capital Partners, UBS and Forsyth
Barr to run a non-deal roadshow, the AFR reported today (Tuesday), citing
people who attended an investor pitch by the company's founders in Sydney.
Singapore Summit: Meet the largest APAC brokers you know (and those you still don't!)
Co-founders
Michael Walker and Selwyn Loekman presented preliminary financials to fund
managers at UBS's Chifley Tower offices in Sydney, with Barrenjoey and Forsyth
Barr running separate meetings of their own this week.
Sources who
attended the session told AFR, which was first to report the development, that
the company could push ahead with a pricing process as early as the first half
of 2026.
BlackBull’s Financials
Show 50% EBITDA Margins
BlackBull
generated NZ$108 million (approximately A$90 million) in revenue over the past
12 months and NZ$55 million in EBITDA, according to figures shared with
investors. Net profit reached NZ$38 million over the same period, and EBITDA
margins came in above 50%, the pitch materials showed.
The company
reported monthly client trading volume of nearly $200 billion in buy and sell
orders, up roughly 50% from the $133 billion monthly average it posted last
year, according to the figures presented to investors. BlackBull attributed the
jump, at least in part, to elevated global market volatility
Volatility
In finance, volatility refers to the amount of change in the rate of a financial instrument, such as commodities, currencies, or stocks, over a given time period. Essentially, volatility describes the nature of an instrument’s fluctuation; a highly volatile security equates to large fluctuations in price, and a low volatile security equates to timid fluctuations in price. Volatility is an important statistical indicator used by financial traders to assist them in developing trading systems. Trad
In finance, volatility refers to the amount of change in the rate of a financial instrument, such as commodities, currencies, or stocks, over a given time period. Essentially, volatility describes the nature of an instrument’s fluctuation; a highly volatile security equates to large fluctuations in price, and a low volatile security equates to timid fluctuations in price. Volatility is an important statistical indicator used by financial traders to assist them in developing trading systems. Trad
Read this Term, which the company
says has lifted activity levels across its platform.
The
business spans 180 countries and offers more than 26,000 tradable instruments,
including stocks, equity indices, commodities, foreign exchange and
cryptocurrencies, the company says.
Shareholders Include LMAX
and Milford
Walker and
Loekman each own approximately 30% of the company, according to data filed with
the New Zealand Companies Office. London-headquartered LMAX Exchange Group
holds around 20.8%, having acquired a minority stake in
BlackBull in 2024 as
part of what the two firms described as a partnership to improve execution
quality and expand BlackBull's cryptocurrency capabilities through LMAX's
institutional digital assets infrastructure. Milford's Private Equity Fund III
holds 20.6%.
The
business has been paying dividends to shareholders, sources told AFR. Simon
Botherway, the former chair of New Zealand's Financial Markets Authority
establishment board, serves as chairman of BlackBull's board after acquiring a
stake alongside Milford in a prior funding round, according to company
disclosures.
No ASX-Listed Peers to
Benchmark Against
Fund
managers assessing the IPO will struggle to find a direct ASX-listed
comparable. The Australian market has seen a wave of newer retail trading
Retail Trading
In finance, retail trading refers to individual traders, trading through a broker, or on a platform. This can include novice traders and experienced traders. Trading and investing are divided into two categories, retail and institutional. Institutions include investment banks like JP Morgan or Citibank and global central banks like the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. When we talk about retail trading however, we usually are referring to forex trading, but there are retail trade
In finance, retail trading refers to individual traders, trading through a broker, or on a platform. This can include novice traders and experienced traders. Trading and investing are divided into two categories, retail and institutional. Institutions include investment banks like JP Morgan or Citibank and global central banks like the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. When we talk about retail trading however, we usually are referring to forex trading, but there are retail trade
Read this Term
platforms, including Stake, Pearler, WeBull and Moomoo, but none are publicly
listed. Investors are expected to benchmark BlackBull against Nasdaq-listed
Interactive Brokers Group, which carries a market capitalisation of around $115
billion, and the smaller Robinhood Markets, according to AFR.
The
comparison comes with caveats. Interactive Brokers targets a more sophisticated
trader and generates revenue primarily through commissions and net interest
income, while Robinhood built its following around commission-free retail
investing aimed at younger users. BlackBull operates in the CFD and leveraged
trading segment, which carries a different regulatory profile and tends to
generate higher revenue per active account.
The
competitive landscape around BlackBull's talent has also been active recently.
In March, a former
senior BlackBull executive launched TabTrade, a new offshore CFD broker registered in Saint
Lucia that competes on zero-spread pricing, illustrating the degree to which
BlackBull alumni are now building competing platforms.
Volatile IPO Window, But
Volume Tailwinds
The listing
push comes as elevated volatility has made the broader IPO market difficult.
BlackBull joins fit-outs business FDC Consolidated and Bain Capital-backed aged
care operator Estia Health, valued at around A$3 billion, on the non-deal
roadshow circuit, according to AFR. All three have presented to fund managers
over the past week without yet committing to a pricing timeline.
The ASX
landscape itself has been changing. Cboe Australia received approval from the
Australian Securities and Investments Commission in late 2025 to host initial
public offerings and dual-listed companies, ending what had been ASX's de facto monopoly
on new listings. Whether BlackBull would consider Cboe as an alternative venue
was not disclosed in the documents circulated to fund managers.
Barrenjoey,
one of the three banks on the mandate, is itself mid-transaction. Magellan
Financial Group agreed in early March to acquire Barrenjoey in a deal valuing
the investment bank at approximately A$1.62 billion, with Magellan purchasing
roughly 10% from Barclays as part of the arrangement.
Barrenjoey
and Forsyth Barr have maintained a trans-Tasman strategic alliance since 2024,
making the two firms natural partners on a deal that spans both the Australian
and New Zealand capital markets.
BlackBull
Markets, an Auckland-based retail trading and CFD platform, is exploring a
simultaneous listing on the Australian Securities Exchange and the New Zealand
Stock Exchange, after appointing Barrenjoey Capital Partners, UBS and Forsyth
Barr to run a non-deal roadshow, the AFR reported today (Tuesday), citing
people who attended an investor pitch by the company's founders in Sydney.
Singapore Summit: Meet the largest APAC brokers you know (and those you still don't!)
Co-founders
Michael Walker and Selwyn Loekman presented preliminary financials to fund
managers at UBS's Chifley Tower offices in Sydney, with Barrenjoey and Forsyth
Barr running separate meetings of their own this week.
Sources who
attended the session told AFR, which was first to report the development, that
the company could push ahead with a pricing process as early as the first half
of 2026.
BlackBull’s Financials
Show 50% EBITDA Margins
BlackBull
generated NZ$108 million (approximately A$90 million) in revenue over the past
12 months and NZ$55 million in EBITDA, according to figures shared with
investors. Net profit reached NZ$38 million over the same period, and EBITDA
margins came in above 50%, the pitch materials showed.
The company
reported monthly client trading volume of nearly $200 billion in buy and sell
orders, up roughly 50% from the $133 billion monthly average it posted last
year, according to the figures presented to investors. BlackBull attributed the
jump, at least in part, to elevated global market volatility
Volatility
In finance, volatility refers to the amount of change in the rate of a financial instrument, such as commodities, currencies, or stocks, over a given time period. Essentially, volatility describes the nature of an instrument’s fluctuation; a highly volatile security equates to large fluctuations in price, and a low volatile security equates to timid fluctuations in price. Volatility is an important statistical indicator used by financial traders to assist them in developing trading systems. Trad
In finance, volatility refers to the amount of change in the rate of a financial instrument, such as commodities, currencies, or stocks, over a given time period. Essentially, volatility describes the nature of an instrument’s fluctuation; a highly volatile security equates to large fluctuations in price, and a low volatile security equates to timid fluctuations in price. Volatility is an important statistical indicator used by financial traders to assist them in developing trading systems. Trad
Read this Term, which the company
says has lifted activity levels across its platform.
The
business spans 180 countries and offers more than 26,000 tradable instruments,
including stocks, equity indices, commodities, foreign exchange and
cryptocurrencies, the company says.
Shareholders Include LMAX
and Milford
Walker and
Loekman each own approximately 30% of the company, according to data filed with
the New Zealand Companies Office. London-headquartered LMAX Exchange Group
holds around 20.8%, having acquired a minority stake in
BlackBull in 2024 as
part of what the two firms described as a partnership to improve execution
quality and expand BlackBull's cryptocurrency capabilities through LMAX's
institutional digital assets infrastructure. Milford's Private Equity Fund III
holds 20.6%.
The
business has been paying dividends to shareholders, sources told AFR. Simon
Botherway, the former chair of New Zealand's Financial Markets Authority
establishment board, serves as chairman of BlackBull's board after acquiring a
stake alongside Milford in a prior funding round, according to company
disclosures.
No ASX-Listed Peers to
Benchmark Against
Fund
managers assessing the IPO will struggle to find a direct ASX-listed
comparable. The Australian market has seen a wave of newer retail trading
Retail Trading
In finance, retail trading refers to individual traders, trading through a broker, or on a platform. This can include novice traders and experienced traders. Trading and investing are divided into two categories, retail and institutional. Institutions include investment banks like JP Morgan or Citibank and global central banks like the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. When we talk about retail trading however, we usually are referring to forex trading, but there are retail trade
In finance, retail trading refers to individual traders, trading through a broker, or on a platform. This can include novice traders and experienced traders. Trading and investing are divided into two categories, retail and institutional. Institutions include investment banks like JP Morgan or Citibank and global central banks like the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. When we talk about retail trading however, we usually are referring to forex trading, but there are retail trade
Read this Term
platforms, including Stake, Pearler, WeBull and Moomoo, but none are publicly
listed. Investors are expected to benchmark BlackBull against Nasdaq-listed
Interactive Brokers Group, which carries a market capitalisation of around $115
billion, and the smaller Robinhood Markets, according to AFR.
The
comparison comes with caveats. Interactive Brokers targets a more sophisticated
trader and generates revenue primarily through commissions and net interest
income, while Robinhood built its following around commission-free retail
investing aimed at younger users. BlackBull operates in the CFD and leveraged
trading segment, which carries a different regulatory profile and tends to
generate higher revenue per active account.
The
competitive landscape around BlackBull's talent has also been active recently.
In March, a former
senior BlackBull executive launched TabTrade, a new offshore CFD broker registered in Saint
Lucia that competes on zero-spread pricing, illustrating the degree to which
BlackBull alumni are now building competing platforms.
Volatile IPO Window, But
Volume Tailwinds
The listing
push comes as elevated volatility has made the broader IPO market difficult.
BlackBull joins fit-outs business FDC Consolidated and Bain Capital-backed aged
care operator Estia Health, valued at around A$3 billion, on the non-deal
roadshow circuit, according to AFR. All three have presented to fund managers
over the past week without yet committing to a pricing timeline.
The ASX
landscape itself has been changing. Cboe Australia received approval from the
Australian Securities and Investments Commission in late 2025 to host initial
public offerings and dual-listed companies, ending what had been ASX's de facto monopoly
on new listings. Whether BlackBull would consider Cboe as an alternative venue
was not disclosed in the documents circulated to fund managers.
Barrenjoey,
one of the three banks on the mandate, is itself mid-transaction. Magellan
Financial Group agreed in early March to acquire Barrenjoey in a deal valuing
the investment bank at approximately A$1.62 billion, with Magellan purchasing
roughly 10% from Barclays as part of the arrangement.
Barrenjoey
and Forsyth Barr have maintained a trans-Tasman strategic alliance since 2024,
making the two firms natural partners on a deal that spans both the Australian
and New Zealand capital markets.
