(Reuters) – Citadel Securities said on Tuesday venture capital firm Sequoia Capital and crypto-focused investment company Paradigm had made a $1.15 billion minority investment in the firm, giving the market maker a valuation of nearly $22 billion.
The round was led by Sequoia. Alfred Lin, a partner at Sequoia, will join the board of Citadel Securities, the company said.
Founded by Ken Griffin, Citadel Securities provides trading services to asset managers, banks, broker-dealers and hedge funds. Its institutional business serves over 1,600 clients.
Last year, the company insisted it did not ask Robinhood or any other firm to restrict or limit trading on GameStop Corp and other so-called “meme stocks” at the height of the retail-driven trading frenzy in January 2021, after accusations from some retail investors.
(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
