Crypto lender Vauld has announced that the ambitious plans by Nexo to acquire the company have fallen apart after nearly five months of deliberations.
Insiders claim that the announcement is not absolute because a breakdown of negotiations of this kind will involve a joint statement from the parties. There is widespread speculation that Nexo is still keen on pursuing the deal despite the inability to reach an agreement.
“We were previously exploring a potential acquisition by Nexo as part of the proposed restructuring plan,” said Vauld on Twitter. “To provide a very brief summary, our discussions with Nexo have unfortunately not come to fruition.”
Nexus co-founder Kalin Metodiev disclosed via email that his company is not throwing in the towel and expressed commitment to helping Vauld’s creditors recover their funds.
“Nexo has not given up on its attempt to save Vauld and help its creditors recover the maximum possible platform funds,” said Metodiev.
Negotiations over a potential acquisition were opened in July after Vauld went through a harrowing patch characterized by the halting of withdrawals for customers, laying off 30% of the workforce, and filing for a moratorium against creditors. At that time, Nexo stated that it was willing to buy Vauld to “reorganize its future operations” to spread its tentacles across Southeast Asia.
The breakdown of negotiations occurred with time running out for Vauld to submit its restructuring report to creditors as the specter of class-action lawsuits hovers around the embattled digital asset lender.
Things are not looking so bright for Nexo
Despite Nexo’s plan to purchase Vauld, the company is dealing with problems of its own that industry participants believe could have swayed Vauld’s decision to pull out from negotiations.
The first concern is Nexo’s planned departure from the United States after discussions with regulators came to a dead end. Nexo has already ended its services in New York and Vermont, while the states of Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, and South Carolina will be phased out.
“It is now unfortunately clear to us that despite rhetoric to the contrary, the U.S. refuses to provide a path forward for enabling blockchain businesses, and we cannot give our customers confidence that regulators are focused on their best interests,” said a company’s blog post.
Another grave concern for Vauld was the failure of Nexo to respond to requests seeking to know its financial condition. Furthermore, the absence of an early exit option for Vauld’s creditors may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.
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