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FTX Sells Remaining Anthropic Shares for $450M as Bankruptcy Cost Surpasses $700M

AuthorSyed Ali Haider
Crypto News Author
Fact Checked by Kamal Masri
Last updated: June 02, 2024
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FTX Sells Remaining Anthropic Shares for $450M as Bankruptcy Cost Surpasses $700M

Highlights:

  • FTX has finalized the sale of its last 15 million shares in Anthropic, securing $450 million.
  • The transaction marks FTX’s total earnings from Anthropic at $1.3 billion, with a $800 million profit.
  • Despite extensive legal costs exceeding $700 million, FTX plans to fully repay 98% of creditors.

TX’s bankruptcy estate, led by CEO John Ray III, has completed the sale of its remaining shares in Anthropic, the AI startup known for its chatbot Claude. According to recent bankruptcy filings, FTX sold its last 15 million shares for $30 each, resulting in proceeds exceeding $450 million.

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Although FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial has come to an end, pending an appeal, the company’s bankruptcy proceedings continue to be prolonged. FTX has sold its remaining stake in Anthropic as the total cost of the bankruptcy surpasses $700 million in administrative and legal expenses.

FTX Profits $800M From Anthropic Stake Sale

According to the firm’s latest bankruptcy court filing, on June 1, The FTX Estate, led by John Ray III, offloaded its remaining shares in Anthropic, the AI startup behind the chatbot Claude. Before this, FTX had 15 billion shares of Anthropic remaining, each valued at approximately $30. This amounted to a total of $450 million in proceeds.

FTX’s bankruptcy document
Source: FTX’s bankruptcy document

G Squared, a global venture capital fund, purchased approximately one-third of the remaining 4.5 million shares for $135 million. The remaining twenty purchasers of the Anthropic shares were mostly venture capital funds.

Notably, each share in this second sale was sold at the same price as in the initial selloff conducted in March. The Bahamian-headquartered exchange invested $500 million in the valuable AI company three years ago. However, its series of sell-offs, including this latest one, has yielded up to $1.3 billion. This results in around $800 million in profit from its investment in Anthropic.

For its initial sale, FTX sold $884 million worth of Anthropopic shares to institutional investors, including ATIC Third International Investment Company LLC and Jane Street. The exit from Anthropic could greatly assist the exchange in rising bankruptcy costs and bolster its pledge to repay customers.

FTX’s Bankruptcy Costs Cross $700M

According to a tracker kept by creditor Mr. Purple, the cost of the FTX bankruptcy has surpassed $700 million in legal and administrative fees. Alvarez & Marsal, the consulting firm, accounted for most of these expenses, charging the estate an astounding $212 million for its services. Sullivan and Cromwell, FTX’s legal counsel, invoiced the second-largest amount, totaling $202 million. Tracker showed that Ray had billed the estate $5.6 million since the case began at an hourly rate of $1,300.

FTX Looks to Pay Customers

FTX’s bankruptcy exchange has amassed billions of dollars, more than the required amount, to cover the losses incurred during the SBF-led fiasco in November 2022. Surprisingly, the company plans to fully reimburse users along with interest, which is surprising. FTX possesses up to $16.3 billion in cash for distribution. This positions the company strongly to settle debts totaling approximately $11 billion owed to two million customers and other creditors.

The estate aims to pay 98% of its creditors at least 118% of their allowed claims, based on the dollar value when the exchange filed for bankruptcy. John Ray III stated that creditors with approved claims under $50,000 will qualify for 118% compensation, subject to court approval as outlined in the plan. FTX’s proposal, as per a recent court filing, aims to distribute the claims within 60 days of court approval.

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