By
Chimamanda U. Martha
April 19th, 2024
Interested buyers may officially begin to indicate their interests between January 18 and February 1.
Bankruptcy judge John Dorsey has cleared FTX to sell four of its key units in its bid to raise funds to repay creditors. This means that the collapsed exchange may now sell off its FTX Europe, FTX Japan, its derivatives arm LedgerX and Embed – its stock-clearing platform. The sell-offs will be overseen by investment bank Perella Weinberg.
Judge Dorsey issued the order on Thursday following a Wednesday hearing. Per the order, sales notices will be made available to the public within three working days. However, interested buyers may officially begin to indicate their interests between January 18 and February 1.
Interestingly, court documents show more than 117 buyers already have an interest in the sell-offs. But many more are also expected to join in within the given timeframe.
FTX Plans a Quick Sell-off of Its Units
FTX exchange used to be a major force in the crypto industry up until it filed for bankruptcy on November 11, 2022. The crypto empire crumbled shortly after reports surfaced about inconsistencies in the balance sheet of FTX trading arm Alameda Research.
Since filing for bankruptcy, FTX has been seeking for opportunities to at least repay creditors. So, now, it wants to sell off the more solvent parts of its business, hoping to do so very quickly.
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice DoJ has some reservations about the upcoming sales. The DoJ is considering the allegations of wrongdoings that have been presented against some top executives of the firm. Therefore, it insists that every claim linked to former senior executives and their families will not be included in the sale. At least, for now, that facts have not yet been established. FTX also agrees to the DoJ’s request and assures that such claims will not be included.
So far, however, former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to charges leveled against him. And his former partners – Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang, are also said to be fully cooperating with investigators.