FTX seeks court approval to divest its $18 billion stake in Anthropic, part of its post-collapse asset liquidation strategy, to repay customers and fulfill stakeholder commitments.
With the intention of selling its 7.84% ownership in Anthropic, an artificial intelligence business that was valued at about $18 billion as of December 2023, the defunct cryptocurrency exchange known as FTX is requesting permission from the court to do so. According to estimates, the value of this investment is somewhere about $1.4 billion. Following the collapse of FTX in November 2022, this step is a part of the company’s attempts to recover cash and completely reimburse consumers and creditors. Sam Bankman-Fried, who had previously served as the CEO of FTX, first used client deposits to make an investment of around $530 million in Anthropic via Alameda Research, which is a sister business of FTX. It was originally via this investment that Alameda was able to acquire a 13.56% share in Anthropic; however, following further fundraising rounds, this stake was reduced to 7.84%.
FTX is attempting to have its sale motion reviewed in a shorter amount of time, with the goal of reaching a decision by the time a meeting of the bankruptcy court is set to take place on February 22, 2023. There is a strong chance for FTX to raise the monies required to satisfy its financial commitments and optimize returns for stakeholders via the sale of the Anthropic interest, which is seen as a major opportunity. For the purpose of making the sale easier, a number of other approaches, such as auctions or private discussions, are being investigated. This strategic disposal is in line with FTX’s larger asset liquidation plan, which is designed to pay client commitments. Additionally, it highlights the company’s commitment to indemnifying clients who have been negatively impacted.
As part of a bigger attempt to liquidate assets, FTX is exploring the possibility of selling its share in Anthropic. Over the course of the previous three months, the company has sold more than 700 million dollars worth of cryptocurrencies, in addition to selling a significant amount of its GBTC investments for over 600 million dollars. In addition, the firm has taken steps to sell a claim against the defunct cryptocurrency lender Genesis, which is worth $175 million. This action demonstrates that the corporation is prioritizing the recovery of assets and the compensation of customers above the intentions to relaunch the exchange. According to the most recent information, FTX has been successful in amassing more than seven billion dollars’ worth of recovered assets. The company intends to disperse these monies depending on the values of cryptocurrencies in November 2022, after the asset recovery phase has been completed.
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