Bakkt Holdings Inc., a digital asset platform majority owned by Intercontinental Exchange Inc., agreed to buy Apex Crypto LLC for a whopping $200 million to expand its product offerings.
Bakkt Holdings Inc., a digital asset platform majority owned by Intercontinental Exchange Inc., agreed to buy Apex Crypto LLC for a whopping $200 million to expand its product offerings.
Bakkt will pay $55 million in cash to buy the unit of Apex Fintech Solutions Inc. to be acquired, according to a statement from the buyer. Bakkt has also offered up to $45 million worth of treasury shares, subject to Apex Crypto hitting certain targets.
An additional $100 million worth of Bakkt shares and so-called “seller notes” could be paid if Apex Crypto meets certain targets through 2025. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2023. Bakkt and Apex Fintech Solutions will sign an agreement to continue collaborating commercially.
Bakkt joins a flurry of crypto industry consolidation following this year’s defeat in digital assets. Own stock has fallen by more than 75% this year.
Through the announced acquisition, it aims to expand its partnership with financial technology firms, with Apex Crypto currently serving dozens of clients in that space to facilitate crypto trading, clearing and custody. The Apex unit started in 2019, a year after Bakkt was founded within ICE.
While Bakkt was a darling of digital assets for investors when it went public last year via a blank check deal, the plunge in its stock has resulted in more than $1 billion in estimated impairment losses. ICE has written off its stake from $1.5 billion at the end of June to $400 million.
Source link
