April 9 (Reuters) - Investment platform Linqto has

agreed to go public through a merger with special purpose

acquisition company (SPAC) Blockchain Coinvestors Acquisition

in a deal valued at $700 million, the companies said on

Tuesday.

San Jose, California-based Linqto, which has more than

750,000 users in 110 countries, allows users to make investments

in unicorns - startups valued at over $1 billion - and other

private companies.

The company's platform has provided investors access to

private companies such as Fortnite maker Epic Games and

cryptocurrency company Ripple among others.

Linqto is the latest company to decide to go public with a

blank-check firm, a route that has largely fallen out of favor

following intense scrutiny from the U.S. Securities and Exchange

Commission.

Blank-check firms, also known as SPACs, use proceeds raised

from an initial public offering to merge with a private company.

Following the deal, which is expected to close in the second

half of 2024, the combined company will operate as Linqto.

In February, trading platform Webull also agreed to list its

shares on Nasdaq via a merger with a blank-check firm in a deal

valued at $7.3 billion.

(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru; Editing by

Shinjini Ganguli)