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Binance US to Acquire Voyager’s Assets in $1B Agreement
Binance US will acquire the assets of bankrupt crypto firm Voyager Digital.
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Binance has reached an agreement to buy assets of Voyager Digital for $1 billion, the crypto lender said in a press release Monday. The deal is valued to match the fair market value of Voyager’s portfolio and includes an additional premium of $20 million.
Binance Buys Voyager’s Assets to Reimburse Affected Customers
Binance has agreed to acquire Voyager Digital’s assets for $1 billion, the bankrupt crypto lender announced Monday. The deal represents the fair market value of Voyager’s portfolio, which is currently valued at about $1.002 billion, including an additional premium of $20 million.
“The Binance.US bid aims to return crypto to customers in kind, in accordance with court-approved disbursements and platform capabilities.”
Voyager Announces Agreement for Binance.US to Acquire Its Assets
The move comes several weeks after Binance submitted a bid to buy Voyager’s assets. There were other companies also interested in buying Voyager, including crypto and NFT trading platform CrossTower and financial software maker Wave Financial.
Voyager stated Binance’s decision is aimed at returning funds to the customers affected by the crypto lender’s collapse, in accordance with the disbursements ordered by the court. Furthermore, the world’s biggest crypto exchange will “make a $10 million good faith deposit and will reimburse Voyager for certain expenses up to a maximum of $15 million,” Voyager added.
“Should the deal not close by April 18, 2023 subject to a one-month extension, the agreement allows Voyager to immediately move to return value to customers.”
– Voyager Digital added in the press release.
The deal follows Voyager’s restructuring process launched on July 5, 2022, to return maximum value to customers. The agreement to sell assets to Binance will be “consummated pursuant to a Chapter 11 plan,” Voyager said, which is pending a creditor vote and remains subject to other customary closing conditions.
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Binance’s $1B Acquisition Allowed by FTX Collapse
Binance and other crypto firms voiced their interest in buying Voyager’s assets shortly after FTX, which had initially agreed to buy the embattled crypto lender, fell into bankruptcy in November. Voyager was set for a $1.4 billion takeover by FTX.US after the crypto exchange’s former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried won in a US bankruptcy auction.
In July, Voyager filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which allows beleaguered companies to enter a restructuring process, after crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) defaulted on a $670 million loan from the company.
Voyager’s customers have been unable to retrieve their lost funds since the crypto lender halted withdrawals amid a sector-wide liquidity crunch. Just several days after, crypto lender Celsius Network also filed for bankruptcy.
Do you think Binance’s deal with Voyager comes at the right time, given the ongoing crypto rout? Let us know in the comments below.
Tim Fries
Tim Fries is the cofounder of The Tokenist. He has a B. Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan, and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Tim served as a Senior Associate on the investment team at RW Baird's US Private Equity division, and is also the co-founder of Protective Technologies Capital, an investment firm specializing in sensing, protection and control solutions.
