Galaxy Digital, the crypto investment firm co-founded by former Wall Street star Mike Novogratz, is reportedly acquiring Celsius Network in a sale that will give the tokenized lending platform access to its $260 million of capital.
The deal would give Celsius access to a reported $260 million of capital through Galaxy Digital’s investment arm, which would make it a majority shareholder in the company. Galaxy Digital says the terms will include $10 million in cash and $50 million in common shares.
The deal would give Celsius access to a reported $260 million of capital through Galaxy Digital’s investment arm, which would make it a majority shareholder in the company. The agreement also includes a $10 million cash infusion and an additional $50 million worth of common shares in the crypto firm.
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Galaxy Digital already has investments in other crypto firms including XRP Capital and Blockrize, a platform for transacting real estate on the blockchain.
As part of the deal, Galaxy Digital CEO Michael Novogratz will be appointed CEO of Celsius while its founder Alex Mashinsky will become president and chief architect at Galaxy Digital’s blockchain business unit (BDU). In addition, Adam Draper from Boost VC will join BDU as managing partner.
The deal will see Galaxy Digital become the majority shareholder of Celsius. As part of the deal, Galaxy Digital will provide $10 million in cash and $50 million in common shares. In addition, Galaxy Digital will have an option to buy up to an additional $50 million in common shares over the next two years at a discount from their current trading price.
Galaxy Digital, a crypto investment firm led by former hedge fund manager Michael Novogratz, has bought Celsius Network in a bankruptcy sale for $20 million.
Galaxy Digital is the latest in a series of acquisitions that have included LedgerX and Coin Capital Group’s holdings. Galaxy Digital raised $250 million in funding last year, while its market cap stands at $1.3 billion currently.
Celsius Network is a lending platform that allows users to borrow cryptocurrencies against their holdings on the platform—it claims to have more than 500,000 users so far and was founded by Alex Mashinsky and Solomon Lederer in 2016 as an alternative to traditional banks for personal loans or credit cards. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this month after failing to raise new funds following an initial coin offering (ICO).
