SEC Declined Binance U.S Bid to Acquire Voyager Digital

• SEC issued a limited objection to Binance U.S.
• Voyager stated the Binance bid was the highest and best bid for its assets.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance U.S has received a “limited objection” from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the planned $1 billion acquisition of bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital. SEC disclosed the statement by declining the acquisition proposal due to a lack of “adequate information”.  

According to a bankruptcy court filing on Jan 4, 2023, SEC claimed that the acquisition agreement lacked information about the ability of Binance to finalize the deal. Also, the regulators requested more details about the viability of the Binance U.S post-acquisition business operations. 

Binance Offer to Voyager Digital

Sharp drop in the value of cryptocurrencies and significant cash flow led Voyager Digital to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the Southern District of New York on July 5th, 2022. All of the corporate entities that belong to the crypto lender were included in the bankruptcy filing.

Voyager claimed on September 27 that FTX.US had won the auction for its assets with an offer of $1.4 billion. That would have allowed consumers to recover 72% of their frozen crypto assets. But later no assets were transferred due to the FTX exchange failure. 

Following that, Binance reportedly resubmitted the bid to acquire Voyager Digital. Further, the crypto lender reported on December 19 that it had accepted Binance.US’s offer to buy its assets. The deal is worth a total of $1.022 billion. 

Also, Voyager stated the Binance bid was the “highest and best bid for its assets” and the greatest value being restored to users and creditors. However, the SEC regulators requested more information from Voyager regarding what would occur if the transaction was not completed by April 18.