A syndicate of investors is reportedly poised to take control of cryptocurrency-focused media company CoinDesk.
The investor group is led by Matthew Roszak of Tally Capital, a private investment firm focused on crypto and blockchain-based technologies, and Peter Vessenes of Capital6, a venture capital firm, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Thursday (July 20), citing unnamed sources.
Capital6, CoinDesk and Tally Capital did not immediately reply to PYMNTS’ request for comment.
The pending transaction carries an enterprise value of about $125 million, with CoinDesk’s parent company, Digital Currency Group (DCG), retaining a stake in the media business, events, data and indexes once the deal is finalized in the coming weeks, according to the WSJ report.
DCG, which acquired the media company in 2016 for $500,000, had reportedly received multiple unsolicited offers, the report said. CoinDesk reported $50 million in revenue last year from online advertising, events and indexes.
The move comes as DCG, a crypto conglomerate, is being pressured by the bankruptcy of its lending arm, Genesis Global Capital, as well as the closure of its institutional-trading platform Tradeblock and wealth-management unit HQ, per the report. Moreover, the crypto industry as a whole has been enduring successive bankruptcies and a sharp drop in token prices last year.
CoinDesk’s existing management team is expected to remain following the completion of the deal, according to the report.
It was reported in January that CoinDesk was seeking a buyer, with CEO Kevin Worth telling the WSJ at the time that the company had hired investment bankers at Lazard Ltd. to examine options that include a full or partial sale.
“Over the last few months, we have received numerous inbound indications of interest in CoinDesk,” Worth said at the time.
DCG had received several unsolicited offers of more than $200 million in the previous few months, according to the January report.
Two months later, in March, CoinDesk reported that DCG was looking for new bankers for its portfolio companies following the collapses of Silicon Valley Bank, Silvergate Capital and Signature Bank. DCG’s efforts came as a number of crypto and tech companies were looking for new banks following those high-profile bank failures.
