NEW YORK – Binance.US will buy Voyager Digital’s assets out of bankruptcy in a deal worth US$1.02 billion (S$1.38 billion).
Voyager selected Binance.US as the highest and best bidder after reviewing options, the company said in a statement on Monday. The bid “sets a clear path forward for Voyager customer funds to be unlocked as soon as possible”, according to the statement, and the company will aim to return crypto to its customers in kind.
The deal values Voyager’s crypto portfolio at just over US$1 billion, and includes another US$20 million for “incremental value”.
The deal is subject to bankruptcy court approval, and a hearing is scheduled for Jan 5.
Voyager collapsed into court protection in July. Its assets were set to be purchased by FTX, but that deal crumbled when FTX went bankrupt in November.
The Binance United States entity buying Voyager operates as a separate legal entity with a licensing agreement with Binance.com and is led by chief executive Brian Shroder. In a thread on Twitter, Mr Shroder said the “current target, pending court approvals, is to provide users access to their assets in March 2023”.
Voyager offered crypto trading, yield products and staking – a way of earning rewards for holding certain cryptocurrencies – and was among the companies burned by the downfall of hedge fund Three Arrows Capital In June, it issued a notice of default to Three Arrows on a loan worth about US$675 million. In July, Voyager filed for bankruptcy.
Voyager also had extensive financial ties with Alameda Research, FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto trading firm. Alameda acted as a lender, borrower and backer of Voyager.
The collapse of FTX bolstered Binance.com’s overall market dominance during a time of negative industry sentiment. Binance’s market share has risen to 52.9 per cent, its biggest ever, according to data compiled by CryptoCompare.
Binance.US is now exploring more acquisition opportunities. It raised more than US$200 million at a US$4.5 billion valuation in April.
“We are in the data room for many other assets that make sense as we focus on growth,” said Mr Shroder in an interview. “We are learning about the deals. We are also looking at several firms that are in trouble right now.”
The purpose for any mergers and acquisitions deal would be to drive new users and assets to the Binance.US platform, Mr Shroder said, as well as adding technology, products or services it currently does not have.
There is no earmarked amount for acquisitions and the exchange still has “hundreds of millions of dollars in current assets” from its growth round, he said. BLOOMBERG
