Nexo refutes reports of abandoning Vauld acquisition
Cryptocurrency lender Nexo has denied reports suggesting that it was scrapping plans to acquire its beleaguered rival Vauld. People familiar with the development said the decision to cancel the transaction was sudden and shocking.
CoinDesk reported earlier today that Vauld told them in a private message on Twitter that the potential takeover has been canceled after six months of exclusive negotiations with its larger competitor Nexo.
“We were previously exploring a potential acquisition by Nexo as part of the proposed restructuring plan. To provide a very brief summary, our discussions with Nexo have unfortunately not come to fruition.”
The rumors were confirmed by an email sent by Vauld founder and CEO Darshan Bathija to the firm’s creditors, which said that it was decided to call off Nexo’s acquisition bid.
A few hours later, a person familiar with the matter told Decrypt that any decision about Vauld’s future is in the hands of the firm’s creditor committee, not its former CEO.
Earlier in June, both lenders signed off a term sheet giving them two months of exclusive talks to explore an all-equity acquisition of the Singapore-based business. If successful, Nexo would restructure the company and pursue an expansion in Southeast Asia and India.
Vauld has been thrown a lifeline from Nexo, which is based in London, after it had suspended withdrawals for its more than 800,000 customers. At the time, the crypto lender backed by Coinbase and Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel said it was exploring restructuring options due to “financial challenges” posed by a sharp plunge in cryptocurrencies.
While most crypto lenders were getting caught up in the chaos gripping the crypto world lately, Nexo has offered to acquire rivals. The company also gave a letter of intent offering to buy Celsius, another crypto lending firm, but the latter refused its offer.
Nexo has recently registered its business as a virtual currency operator in Poland, which enables its European-based entity to provide services to the country’s residents lawfully.
Nexo described the milestone as a natural move for the enterprise towards the Central and Eastern European market and the vibrant cryptocurrency community it hosts.
The scope of this approval grants Nexo the right to provide brokerage services in Poland related to exchange transactions between crypto and fiat currencies, as well as the administration of customer accounts and custody. It comes hot on the heels of securing registration in Italy with Organismo Agenti e Mediatori (OAM), the regulatory organization in charge of the country’s licensed financial agents and credit brokers.
