(Reuters) - Online broker TradeStation Group said on Thursday it would go public through a merger with a blank-check firm in a deal that values the combined company at about $1.43 billion. The company intends to use the funds raised to increase its marketing spend in a bid to acquire customers and hire employees to lead the research and development of new products. TradeStation is a financial technology platform which offers self-clearing online brokerage services for stocks, equity and index options, futures options, and cryptocurrencies among others. The deal with Quantum FinTech Acquisition Corporation will be financed by up to $201 million of cash held in the trust account of the SPAC and private investment in public equity (PIPE) of about $115 million from institutional investors led by Monex Group Inc and Galaxy Digital LP. A SPAC is a publicly-listed shell company that raises funds with the intention of merging with a private company within two years of floating their shares. The private firm goes public through the merger. After the deal closes, expected towards first half of 2022, TradeStation will list on the NYSE under the ticker symbol ‘TRDE’. Reporting by Manya Saini and Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.