FTX has won the bid to absorb cash-beleaguered crypto lender Voyager Digital, beating crypto exchanges Binance and CrossTower. According to a Monday announcement, FTX won after placing a $1.422 billion bid, with Voyager describing the sale as “the best alternative for Voyager stakeholders.” Details as to how much its two other competitors offered were not disclosed.
“After multiple rounds of bidding in a highly competitive auction process that lasted two weeks, its operating company Voyager Digital LLC selected West Realm Shires Inc. (“FTX US”) as the highest and best bid for its assets,” Voyager announced on Monday.
Per the document, out of the money offered by FTX, the fair market value of all Voyager-held digital assets stood at $1.311 billion, while the incremental value of the firm was set at $111 million.
As ZyCrypto reported, following the Chapter 11 filing in early July, Voyager engaged in a dual track process, considering both a potential sale and a standalone re-organization. In late July, the firm turned down a joint offer by FTX US and Alameda Ventures terming it as “a low-ball bid dressed up as a white knight rescue” in a document filed in the bankruptcy court.
After that, FTX was joined by Binance, with both exchanges initially offering roughly $50 million and proposed migrating Voyager customers to their platforms. They also proposed refunding Voyager customers with their pro-rata share of affected crypto assets. On the other hand, CrossTower proposed retaining Voyager’s platform and app, choosing to run the company under its original structure. Under this plan, Voyager customers would also receive their pro-rata share of crypto-assets and share in Crosstowers revenue for a few years.
 
 
While Voyager is still owed a considerable amount by Three arrows capital, the sale marks an important milestone in alleviating the firm’s financial health following the financial meltdown that pummelled cryptocurrencies in the first half of 2022.
“FTX US’s bid maximizes value and minimizes the remaining duration of the Company’s restructuring by providing a clear path forward for the Debtors to consummate a chapter 11 plan and return value to their customers and other creditors.” Voyager wrote.
Voyager also becomes the latest entrant to a list of similar firms to which FTX’s BankFried has thrown a lifeline within the past four months. Moving forwards, an asset purchase agreement between Voyager and FTX will be presented to the bankruptcy court for approval on October 19, 2022.