Goldman Sachs to buy NEOS for $2.25B, gains Bitcoin income ETF

Goldman Sachs agreed to acquire NEOS for $2.25 billion, obtaining NEOS’s Bitcoin income exchange-traded fund business, related operations and staff. The companies announced the transaction in a joint statement and said the deal is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

The purchase transfers NEOS’s ETF platform and the teams that run its funds. NEOS’s products package exposure to bitcoin with strategies designed to generate yield, giving investors regulated access to bitcoin while seeking additional income from the holdings.

NEOS’s funds use techniques such as lending assets and writing options to produce income on top of any price returns. Those techniques can introduce additional counterparty risk, fee layers and operational steps compared with holding bitcoin outright.

Goldman Sachs will add the acquired products to its asset management offerings and can use its custody, trading and distribution networks to offer the ETFs to wealth, private banking and institutional clients. The companies described the acquisition as a way to integrate NEOS’s existing clients and operational capabilities into Goldman’s platforms.

Executives from both firms indicated teams responsible for fund management and operations will remain in place under Goldman during the transition to ensure continuity for investors. The firms did not disclose the full list of staff transfers or the detailed handling of current portfolios beyond the asset and platform transfer.

Regulators will review the combined operations for compliance and custody rules that apply to digital-asset products. The companies said they will provide further details on integration plans and will work to minimize disruption for existing ETF investors as the transaction moves toward closing.