Alameda Research Selling its Stake in Sequoia Capital to N Abu Dhabi

With the conclusion of the insolvency proceedings, the story of the FTX exchange, and its sister business Alameda Research is continuing.

The most recent turn of events involves the sale of Alameda Research’s stake in Sequoia Capital to the sovereign wealth fund of N Abu Dhabi.

A recent document filed in court by the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware disclosed (1) both parties’ agreement.

 

Important Aspects Regarding the Alameda Research Transaction

When considering whether or not to agree to the sale, one of the considerations that went into the decision was how quickly the purchaser would carry out the Selling transaction.

In addition, Al Nawwar Investment RSC’s offer was greater than those of the four other potential buyers, which is why Alameda Research should select this alternative.

Importantly, the Purchaser, Al Nawwar Investments RSC, is a government-owned business in Abu Dhabi that already holds a stake in Sequoia and is the party responsible for the acquisition.

The agreement with Alameda Research is for $45 million, and it could be finalized as soon as the end of March if the Delaware insolvency judge John Dorsey blesses the transaction.

The judge had always taken part in the legal proceedings involving FTX, and he even permitted the company to sell a few of the assets it controlled after it had filed for bankruptcy.

Dorsey approved the acquisition of several other companies assets, including those of LedgerX, Embed, FTX Europe, and FTX Japan.

With the sale of these assets, FTX may be able to recoup over $5 billion in cash and liquid cryptocurrency assets. Also, on March 8, the judge approved a claim for $445 million in loan repayments that Alameda Research had made against Voyager Digital.

FTX has just agreed with Alameda Research to sell its investment in Sequoia to the government of Abu Dhabi. This transaction is another effort by FTX to raise sufficient funds to pay its debts.

 

Latest in FTX Bankruptcy Lawsuit

Once Binance abandoned its plans to purchase the FTX exchange, its founder, SBF, had already made significant efforts to obtain capital before this point.

Reuters published an article on November 15, 2022, stating that SBF and certain workers of FTX spent the weekend calling potential investors to raise funding.

After posting a bail of $250 million, SBF blamed several people, including himself, for his unsuccessful attempts to preserve FTX.

The previous CEO of FTX was quoted in a blog post published (2) on Coinmarketcap as saying that one of the reasons for the company’s failure was the prolonged bear market in 2022.

The most recent information regarding this matter reveals that the specialists assisting with the FTX bankruptcy have submitted their bills totaling $38 million for January 2023.

The documents filed with the court indicated that the three law firms allocated to the case billed $16.8 million, $663,995, and $1.4 million, respectively.

The companies in question were Sullivan & Cromwell, Landis Rath & Cobb, and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan.

Notable aspects of these firms include employing 180 attorneys and more than 50 non-attorneys, including paralegals and other professionals.