$250M in crypto bank: source
Mike Novogratz, the former Wall Street macro trader, raised about $250 million for his cryptocurrency merchant bank during one of the biggest routs yet in bitcoin, according to a person familiar with the deal.
Terry Gou, the billionaire chief executive officer of China’s Foxconn, is among the investors in the private placement, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the transaction isn’t public.
Investors committed to buy shares of Novogratz’s firm, Galaxy Digital LP, through a holding company that eventually will trade on Toronto’s TSX Venture Exchange, according to the person.
Novogratz, 53, was able to raise money even as prices for bitcoin, ether and other cryptocurrencies were collapsing after reaching record highs in December.
His New York-based merchant bank plans to trade cryptocurrencies in addition to making principal investments, managing assets for other clients and providing advice on blockchain-related ventures.
Unlike in an initial public offering, Galaxy is raising money privately as part of a series of transactions that will allow it go public without disclosing financial statements.
The process also involves a reverse takeover of a Canadian shell company, Bradmer Pharmaceuticals.
Novogratz announced the private placement and listing plans in a statement last month.
Reached by phone last Wednesday, Novogratz declined to comment on this story. An e-mail sent to Foxconn outside normal business hours in Asia wasn’t immediately returned.
Galaxy Digital marks a comeback for Novogratz, who left Fortress Investment Group LLC in 2015 after the macro fund he managed there lost money.
The former Goldman Sachs partner has since reinvented himself as a cryptocurrency investor and champion for blockchain technology.