Bankrupt crypto lender Celsius receives financing proposals

Celsius needs to raise additional money if it hopes to restructure or sell its business and avoid a liquidation. PHOTO: REUTERS

NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) - Celsius Network has received multiple offers of fresh cash to help fund its restructuring process, a lawyer for the bankrupt crypto lender said on Tuesday (Aug 16).

The company is weighing financing packages of “various shapes and sizes”, Mr Joshua Sussberg of Kirkland & Ellis said on behalf of Celsius in a bankruptcy hearing. Several more offers are expected, he said, without providing details about the existing proposals.

US-based Celsius froze withdrawals in June citing “extreme” market conditions and filed for bankruptcy last month, listing a US$1.19 billion (S$1.6 billion) deficit on its balance sheet.

Celsius needs to raise additional money if it hopes to restructure or sell its business and avoid a liquidation. The company forecasts about US$66.4 million (S$91.5 million) of liquidity for August and expects that balance to turn negative in October, according to court papers. 

Celsius will meet the unsecured creditors committee next week and is working “expeditiously” on the path forward, it said in a tweet, adding that the next hearing is expected on Sept 1.

The company said the matters covered in the latest hearing included “our intention to see our customers capture any and all value associated with the recent rise of crypto.”

Bankruptcy loans, or debtor-in-possession financing packages, are obtained by most big companies in Chapter 11 bankruptcy to help fund operations while working on plans to repay creditors. Investors are often willing to provide such a loan only in exchange for a high-ranking claim to the insolvent company’s assets in the event of default. 

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