Simplify Offers $2.25 a Share for Marygold, Topping MDP Deal

Simplify Asset Management has submitted an unsolicited proposal to acquire The Marygold Companies for $2.25 a share in cash, topping Madison Dearborn Partners’ agreement to buy the holding company for $2 a share and putting control of commodity ETF manager USCF in play.

Simplify said it delivered the proposal to Marygold’s board Sept. 27, two days after Madison Dearborn announced its definitive agreement to take Marygold private.. Simplify said its offer is not subject to financing contingencies.

Madison Dearborn’s agreement calls for Marygold shareholders to receive $2 a share, a 100% premium to the company’s unaffected Sept. 24 closing price. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2027.

The competing bids underscore the appeal of USCF, Marygold’s commodity-focused exchange-traded fund subsidiary. USCF manages about $6 billion and operates products providing futures-based exposure to oil, natural gas, metals and broader commodity markets, including the United States Oil Fund. Madison Dearborn said it planned to supply growth capital to USCF and refocus Marygold around the ETF platform.

Simplify, founded in 2020, manages about $12.5 billion in alternatives- and income-oriented ETFs. Its commodity-linked products include the $1.4 billion Simplify Managed Futures Strategy ETF, the $144 million Simplify US Equity PLUS Managed Futures Strategy ETF and the $100 million Simplify Chinese Commodities Strategy No K-1 ETF. Simplify said combining USCF with its platform could broaden product distribution and support additional growth.

“Marygold’s USCF ETF lineup is a natural complement to our alternatives- and income-focused ETF platform,” Paul Kim, Simplify’s co-founder and chief executive, said in a statement.

Marygold’s board has not publicly responded to Simplify’s latest proposal.