Binance is Preparing to Bid for Bankrupt Lender Voyager as FTX Drops Out
Binance.US, the American arm of crypto exchange Binance, is reportedly set for a bid to acquire crypto lending firm Voyager Digital after FTX dropped out of the picture.
Voyager announced last week, following the fall of FTX, that
“Voyager has reopened the bidding process for the company, and is in active discussions with alternative bidders.”
Voyagers, in light of recent events and reports regarding FTX US, the customer vote will be canceled and the proposed sale will not move forward. We are in active discussions with several alternative bidders.
— Voyager (@investvoyager) November 16, 2022
We will keep you updated on reorganization efforts.
The Financial Times reported that Binance.US is readying for a new auction, while Wave Financial is set to make another bid for the assets, too, it stated, citing a person familiar with the matter.
Cryptonews.com reached out to Binance.US for comment.
Meanwhile, Voyager’s announcement further stated that the lender didn’t transfer “any assets to FTX US in connection with the previously proposed transaction” and that FTX.US, as part of the auction process, previously submitted a $5 million “good faith” deposit, which is held in escrow.
It added that,
“Voyager successfully recalled loans from Alameda Research for 6,500 BTC and 50,000 ETH. At this time, Voyager has no loans outstanding with any borrower. At the time of FTX Group’s Chapter 11 filing, Voyager maintained a balance of approximately $3 million at FTX.”
As reported in June, the company’s exposure to troubled crypto fund Three Arrows Capital consisted of BTC 15,250 and USDC 350m, while they also entered into a multi-million credit line agreement with Alameda, a quantitative trading firm and the parent company of the FTX exchange.
Voyager filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in July, which enabled it to enter a voluntary restructuring process aimed at “returning maximum value to customers.” This was followed by a bidding process in which both Binance and FTX participated.
At the end of September, FTX.US emerged as the highest bidder to buy Voyager’s assets. The bid was valued at approximately $1.422 billion and consisted of the fair market value of all Voyager’s crypto assets, which at the time were estimated to be worth around $1.311 billion.
About a month later, at the end of October, and days before the infamous collapse of FTX, the exchange secured the approval of a US bankruptcy court to take over Voyager’s assets. Following this approval, Voyager Digital was to move forward with a customer vote on the broader plan, for which the deadline was November 29.
Notably, FTX’s bidding win came roughly three months after Voyager dismissed a joint offer proposed by FTX and Alameda Research (now also bankrupt), calling it a “low-ball bid” that could disrupt the firm’s bankruptcy process.
Now, the bidding will start again.
____
Learn more:
– Binance and FTX Leading the Bid to Acquire Voyager’s Assets
– FTX.US is Offering a Voyager Recovery Plan
– Binance & Bitget Aim to Help Reduce FTX Impact
– Cristiano Ronaldo Launches NFT Collection With Binance Crypto Exchange
