New York, May 11, 2026, 13:03 (EDT)
SoFi Technologies Inc. is set to acquire the majority of PrimaryBid, Sky News said Monday, putting the U.S. digital lender in the thick of the battle over IPO access for retail investors. Sky’s report, linking SoFi to the British fintech known for its work on retail share offerings, was picked up by MarketScreener and StreetInsider just after noon in New York.
SoFi’s push to expand past its core consumer lending and banking business comes as retail investors get targeted for major IPOs. The company is chasing more lucrative fee-based services. SOFI stock climbed roughly 1.7% to $16.02 by midday, with trading volume approaching 39.5 million shares, according to market data.
The new deal would extend the companies’ prior arrangement. Back in 2024, Reuters said SoFi joined forces with PrimaryBid to launch a directed share platform—a digital service that gives firms a way to reserve IPO shares for employees, customers, and retail investors, instead of handing most allocations to big institutions.
Speaking to Reuters back then, SoFi CEO Anthony Noto called the move “the natural evolution” of expanding investor access. PrimaryBid’s Anand Sambasivan put it as companies seeking “investor inclusion at IPO”—a line SoFi now leans on even more if the acquisition story pans out. Reuters
Competition is heating up. Back in March, Reuters said Morgan Stanley’s E*Trade was negotiating to front the retail slice of SpaceX’s IPO shares—a move that could put it ahead of Robinhood Markets and SoFi. Both Robinhood and SoFi, according to the same piece, hadn’t dropped out; they were still in the mix, angling for a spot.
SoFi posted a solid opening quarter, with GAAP net revenue climbing 43% year-on-year to $1.1 billion. Net income reached $166.7 million under GAAP, and diluted EPS came in at 12 cents.
Loan growth held steady, with total originations clocking in at $12.2 billion—$8.3 billion from personal loans, $2.6 billion in student loans, and $1.2 billion for home loans. Membership surged 35% to 14.7 million. “The health of our consumer base remains strong,” Noto told Reuters. SoFi Investors
Even with the first-quarter beat, SoFi shares took a hit post-April as the company stuck to its 2026 outlook. William Blair’s Andrew Jeffrey noted SoFi “did not flow through” its Q1 revenue and EBITDA gains—EBITDA being earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Reuters
If the PrimaryBid report checks out, SoFi’s business isn’t just about lending. The company splits into three segments: Lending, Technology Platform, and Financial Services—think SoFi Money and SoFi Invest under that last category, according to its official profile.
Still, there’s a catch. Reuters flagged in its notice on the Sky story that it hadn’t verified the report and wasn’t making any promises about its accuracy. The public statements also skipped over key details like price, deal structure, timeline, or closing hurdles. So, the door’s open to a smaller deal, a reworked agreement, or even nothing at all.
Balance-sheet concerns still dog SoFi, deal or no deal. In its latest quarterly report, SoFi disclosed that its 2026 convertible notes became freely convertible after April 15. As of March 31, those notes could turn into roughly 19.1 million shares. The company’s plan? Settle with a combination of cash and stock.
Right now, it’s a straightforward story: SoFi appears to be digging further into IPO infrastructure, just as access for retail investors turns valuable. The real test will come if SoFi actually announces the deal—details on price, confirmation, and whether PrimaryBid actually boosts fee revenue without creating new integration headaches are still missing.
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