Voyager To Liquidate Assets at Auction
The collapsed lender will hold an auction on Sept. 13 in New York, with the winning bidder to be declared in 3 weeks
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key takeaways
- Voyager last said it was in active discussions with 22 interested parties, but didn’t name them
- FTX/Alameda, Binance and Coinbase have reportedly shown interest in the lender’s assets
Voyager Digital will part with its remaining assets at an auction scheduled for next week, two months after filing for bankruptcy.
A court document filed Tuesday showed the auction will take place on Sept. 13 at 10 am ET at the New York office of Voyager’s investment banker Moelis & Company. The results will be announced at a court hearing on Sept. 29 at 2 pm ET.
Holding an auction implies that Voyager received more than one substantial bid for its assets. Finalization of the best bidder would be the first step for customers to recover their funds locked on the brokerage’s platform.
In bankruptcy auctions, a debtor may decide to liquidate its debt by allowing external parties to bid on its possessions. The external parties view this as an opportunity to buy high-cost assets at a cheaper price. Post the auction, proceeds are generally meant to go to creditors.
Voyager’s lawyers have previously said 88 interested parties had reached out to the firm, but there may have been more after the deadline for bids extended from August 26 to Sept. 6. At the time, it was in active discussions with 22 parties.
The lender hasn’t disclosed which parties have shown interest, but Sam Bankman-Fried made a joint offer via Alameda Ventures and FTX in late July. Voyager was quick to reject that proposal, describing it as a “low-ball bid dressed up as a white knight rescue.”
Binance is another major player in the industry that was interested in snapping up Voyager’s distressed assets, while Coinbase reviewed an offer but pulled out, according to CoinDesk.
Aside from seeking a buyer, Voyager has been attempting to extricate customer funds. Last month, it got court clearance to return $270 million to customers. Another $1.3 billion in digital assets on the company’s platform will be distributed among creditors during bankruptcy proceedings.
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