Goldman to buy NEOS for up to $2.25B, adds BTCI ETF

Goldman Sachs has agreed to acquire NEOS Investments for up to $2.25 billion in a cash-and-equity deal announced Aug. 12. The transaction covers NEOS’s 19 options-based income ETFs and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions. Part of the purchase price will be tied to future performance and service commitments.

The acquisition brings a roughly $30 billion options-income ETF platform and adds the NEOS Bitcoin High Income ETF (BTCI), which had $1.10 billion in net assets as of Aug. 11. Goldman said the deal would expand its income and outcome-oriented options ETF business, which the firm reported manages about $40 billion, and lift its broader global ETF platform to about $130 billion when combined with NEOS and Innovator Capital Management.

BTCI gives investors bitcoin-linked exposure without directly holding the cryptocurrency by investing in Bitcoin exchange-traded products and writing call options to generate monthly income. As of July 31 the fund reported a 26.73% distribution rate and a 1.62% 30-day SEC yield. The fund’s net asset value was down 25.54% year to date and 41.66% over one year; the $0.6458 July payout was preliminarily estimated to consist of about 92% return of capital.

If the transaction closes, BTCI would be nearly 19 times larger than BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Premium Income ETF (BITA), which manages about $60 million. Goldman had filed in April for its own Bitcoin Premium Income ETF that would sell call options tied to Bitcoin ETPs; that proposed fund had not begun investing when the NEOS agreement was announced.

Goldman CEO David Solomon stated, “NEOS complements the firm’s existing buffer, managed-outcome and income strategies as investor demand for active ETFs grows.” Goldman also said the derivative-income ETF sector has expanded to about $180 billion and has grown at an annualized rate above 70% since 2021.

The transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals and the fulfillment of customary closing conditions. Final consideration will reflect the future performance outcomes and service targets agreed by the parties.