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| Nexo, a Lending Company | Pic by Nexo |
Crypto lending company Nexo has volunteered to buy rival crypto lending company Vauld. Vauld himself on Tuesday, July 5, 2022 announced to suspend withdrawals and deposits on the grounds that he was exploring potential restructuring options.
Nexo said on Tuesday it had signed a term sheet with Vauld providing 60 days of exclusive talks to explore acquiring all of the company's equity.
If successful, Nexo said it plans to restructure the company and pursue expansion in Southeast Asia and India. Asked how much Nexo was willing to pay for Vauld, Nexo co-founder Antoni Trenchev said it was "premature" to talk about valuations at this stage. However, he added he was "optimistic" about reaching a deal.
“We are starting due diligence. We have a 60 day exclusivity window in which they will open the book. You will see everything. Is there a hole? How big is the hole? Where are the assets? Who are the partners?” said Trenchev, quoted from CNBC, Wednesday (6/7/2022).
Nexo previously gave Celsius a letter of intent offering to buy the company, but it said the company had rejected the offer.
Trenchev compared the current market situation to the "1907 panic," a series of bank runs that preceded the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913. With no central bank to rely on at the time, the remaining lenders who survived the crash were rescued by top financiers, most notably J. P. Morgan.
As is the case with today's crypto markets, affected crypto companies can only rely on their industry peers for help.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the billionaire behind crypto exchange FTX, has become the last lender to the industry. Last week, FTX signed a deal that gave it the option to buy crypto lending company BlockFi.
Meanwhile another Bankman-Fried firm, Alameda Research also extended a credit line to Voyager Digital, the crypto broker that last week froze all operations.